


the twisted witches trio ♢ h.potter fanfic

by http_cece



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Character Death, Death Eater Harry Potter, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Gryffindor/Slytherin Inter-House Relationships, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, M/M, Matter of Life and Death, Mature Harry Potter, Mentions of Violence, Quidditch, Slytherin Harry Potter, Teen Romance, The Dark Arts (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 04:15:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 24
Words: 31,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29344191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/http_cece/pseuds/http_cece
Summary: "Yeah, that one? That's Marnie McGonagall. Professor McGonagall's great-niece, her parents were killed when she was six. She's a Slytherin. The only Slytherin a long line of Gryffindors. Quidditch captain too. She's scary, watch out for her, though she excels at Potions so that's a plus.""Right, and her?""Pippa Malfoy. Also, Slytherin, though no one knows why. She's Draco's sister but she was adopted. No one knows what happened to her birth parents. Nothing like the Malfoy's. A real sweetheart, she loves people.""And Ella Quincy, Gryffindor. She's incredibly driven, writes for the Hogwarts paper. She wants to write for the Daily Prophet someday. Get this though, I heard her mum is in the Dark Arts.""Really?""Could be. No one really knows. People call them the Twisted Witches Trio."~*I do not own the characters of Harry Potter**Possible Content/TW warning: mentions of death, periodic violence, and some mature content (including smut). If and when it is mentioned I will put a warning at the start of the chapter*
Kudos: 2





	1. Pippa

Pippa Malfoy

Background and Personality

Related to: The Malfoy's daughter (by adoption)

Year in first movie: 3rd

House: Slytherin

Quidditch: terrified of flying

Guardians: Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy (adoptive parents), whereabouts of birth parents unknown to Pippa

Friends: Marnie McGonagall, Ella Quincy, George Weasley, Fred Weasley, Ginny Weasley(very close with ginny, like sisters, writing letters all the time and hanging out), overall friendly and open person

Background: English

~ Personality:

~ Bubbly

~ Optimistic

~ Loyal

~ Dedicated

~ Artsy/Crafty

~ Peacemaker

~ Quiet

~ Outgoing in comfortable situations

~ Loves to give hugs if/when people are comfortable with that

~ Balances the twins and Marnie out

~ Disassociates with her family

~ Tries best to be nice to everyone

~ Has literally never said "my father will hear about this"

~ Wants to be good enough

~ Was pretty much ignored by mother and bullied by father

~ Grows to be pretty badass

~ Is good at being alone but doesn't like it

~ Roommates with Marnie

~ Friendly with Markus Flint

~ Really good at Defense Against the Dark Arts

~ Close friends with Cedric Diggory met before starting first year


	2. Marnie

Marnie Mcgonagall

Character Background and personality

Related to: Minerva McGonagall; great-niece

Year in the first movie: 3rd

House: Slytherin

Quidditch position: Chaser, Captain of Slytherin team (4th Year)

Family: Parents, Eliza Willow and Reggie Mcgonagall (deceased- age 6), placed with Minerva Mcgonagall (full care until adult), Mavis McGonagall (Brother) Gryffindor, age between Charlie and Percy Weasley 

Friends: (not many, she's kind of mean) Fred and George Weasley (same age), Oliver Wood (year older), Pippa Malfoy (same age, Slytherin), Ella Quincy (same age, Gryffindor), Good friendship progression with Neville

Background: Scottish, not nearly as strong accent as Wood or McGonagall but present

Personality:

~ Charming

~ Smartass

~ Intelligent but doesn't let on to it

~ Competitive

~ Sarcastic

~ Blunt

~ Sweet and friendly when close with you

~ Likes pranks with Weasley Twins

~ Matches Twins' (mostly Fred's) chaotic energy

~ Sometimes very spazzy 

~ Literally hates Percy Weasley

~ Spends most of her time in the Gryffindor common room

~ Despises Malfoy

~ Close with Markus flint after second year

~ Is roommates with Pippa

~ Has interesting relationship with her aunt

~ Unconditionally loves Marnie

~ Marnie feels like McGonagall doesn't like her most times. McGonagall actually loves her dearly

~ McGonagall and Marnie just not overly affectionate but little things display their bond

~ Always hanging around each other and protective of each other

~ Weirdly good at potions and transfiguration

~ Sneaks off the look in the Mirror of Erised, sees her mother and father, talks to them about life updates


	3. Ella

Ella Quincy 

Background/Personality

~ Year in first movie: 3rd

~ House: Gryffindor

~ Quidditch Position: doesn't play but loves the sport and writes for the school paper on matches

~ Guardians: Parents, Oscar Quincy (lives in Muggle World), Emilia Quincy (Pureblood), divorced, lives with Oscar in Muggle World

~ Friends: Marnie McGonagall, Pippa Malfoy, Angelina Johnson, Fred Weasley

~ Background: English

Personality:

~ Kind of uptight

~ Stressed out

~ Tired

~ Driven

~ Wants to run the Daily Prophet someday

~ No-nonsense

~ Doesn't really know how to relax or let loose

~ Only uptight about herself, not anyone else's choices

~ Sarcastic

~ Similar personality to Marnie but less intense

~ Loves Quidditch but has never been on a broom

~ Sometimes helps Oliver plan Gryffindor's strategies 

~ Gets pranked by George relentlessly, so pranks him back

~ Intelligent

~ Very curious

~ Sometimes doesn't have boundaries for herself

~ Would do anything for her friends

~ Seems like she has no fears

~ Cannot stand George Wealsey

~ Is roommates with Angelina Johnson

~ Good at Defense Against the Dark Arts

~ Wants to be a Journalist/Reporter for the Daily Prophet

~ Lonely

~ Stuck between two worlds (Muggle and Magical)

~ Leads to her never feeling in place

~ Gets a little jealous easily

~ Mostly jealous of Marnie and Pippa and their relationships 

~ Also jealous because she doesn't know how to properly express her feelings

~ Wants to be loved

~ Incredible focus

~ Funny

~ Doesn't mind breaking rules for her friends


	4. Phillipa and the Hufflepuff Boy

"Be back by 4 P.M. sharp. We have dinner plans and I don't need you wandering the house aimlessly." Pippa didn't get a chance to say anything as Lucious went about his usual routine of apparating her places instead of being a normal parent who accompanies their child places.

She landed in Diagon Alley, thinking to herself, at least that much went alright. Pippa held a list in her hand of tasks that needed to be taken care of all before 4 P.M. After a minute or two, the girl decided Gringotts would be her first stop.

After managing to work her little 12-year old brain through a complex banking system, Pippa was set and ready to get the rest of my supplies. The young girl wandered into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Narcissa had set up an appointment for robe fittings for school.

"Hello! I will be right with you!" A voice from beyond, who Pippa could only assume was Madam Malkin, called to her.

"Alright," She replied. Pippa tapped her foot, anxiously as she waited for the mysterious woman to appear.

"Hello deary, how may I help you this morning?" A friendly-looking woman came to the front desk.

"Hello, I'm Phillipa Malfoy. Narcissa- my mum made an appointment for robe fittings?" Pippa worked hard to ignore the bitter taste of called that woman her mother and attempted to remember to be polite.

"Of course! Let me just check my records- ah yes! here we are! If you would like to set any belongings behind my desk for safekeeping you may have and we will get started!"

~

After an hour of being poked and prodded, I gave the woman what I owed her for robes and waving goodbye to her. She handed me a slip informing me of when my robes would be in for pick-up.

Checking that item off my list, I went to Eeylop's Owl Emporium to look for an owl. Lucious instructed that I pick one that was big and strong and not too personable. Naturally, I had made it my mission to do just the opposite.

"Hello, looking for an owl today, Miss?" The man behind the counter asked. I found it to be an odd question but refrained from voicing my sarcastic response.

"Yes."

"Any kind in particular?" I paused a moment, then shook my head.

"No, I don't really know much about owls," I admitted.

"Well, you've got your big and strong Eagle Owl," I shook my head, "your dependable and fierce Screech Owl." It cocked its head at me as we passed, almost glaring.

"Nope."

"How about a Great grey Owl?" My eyes wandered, suddenly landing on the cutest, tiniest owl I had ever seen.

"What about that one?" I asked, venturing over. The shop attendant laughed, hesitantly.

"Surely, Miss you don't want a Little Owl, do you?" He asked. I smiled up at him.

"Absolutely, I do."

~

My new Little Owl, Neptune, I had decided to name him, bounced around in his cage happily as I walked into Ollivander's.

"Hello?" A man called. I couldn't help but laugh as every shop keeper I had met so far greeted me the same way.

"Hello," I replied.

"In need of a wand, I see." Who I could only assume was Mr. Ollivander himself asked.

"Yes sir." I had started to feel that I had likely done my shopping backward.

"I don't suppose you'd mind if I placed my owl on the counter for a moment?" I asked, timidly. Mr. Ollivander smiled.

"Not at all, be my guest." I smiled gratefully.

"So, let's get you a wand, Miss..."

"Phillipa," I said. He smiled.

"Ah, Phillipa. Lovely name."

"Thank you, sir." Mr. Ollivander wandered back to the tall shelves lined with wands.

"My philosophy is, Miss Phillipa, the witch does not choose the wand. But rather, the wand chooses the witch." We had tried a couple of wands and eventually had landed on a 10.5 inch Hazel with Phoneix feather core with medium flexibility.

Satisfied and not up to question it, I thanked Mr. Ollivander and left the store, ready to take a break.

~

After eating a quick lunch at Three Broomsticks by myself, I decided it would be best to purchase my books. I made my way into Flourish and Blotts. It didn't take me long to find all the required books for my first year and I spent a couple of minutes looking at other books that piqued my interest.

I picked up a book titled Unfogging the Future. I found myself interested in its contents as I skimmed the pages. Divination was a class for third-year students.

"Planning on reading anyone's palm?" I jumped at the sudden voice behind me.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." I turned to see a boy who looked just older than me glancing over my shoulder.

"I'm not sure. Maybe I'll look into it." I quipped.

"I'm Cedric." He said, extending his hand.

"Phillipa." The boy smiled.

"Are you a first-year?" He asked.

"Is it that obvious?" I asked, in a low voice. Cedric laughed, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Only a bit. I'm a second year." He said, proudly.

"My favorite color is yellow," I replied. I smiled as it made Cedric smile.

"Do you know what house you want?" I thought for a minute.

"It doesn't really matter much to me. Though, I presume my parents want me to be in Slytherin." I mused. Cedric nodded.

"It's not true what a lot of people say, you know," Cedric said, lowering his voice. I leaned closer to him.

"What's not true?"

"The stereotype that all Slytherins are evil and mean or become Deatheaters." I smiled up at him.

"I'm glad you think that. Makes me feel much better." I said, truthfully. I knew precisely the reason Lucious and Narcissa want me to be in Slytherin and even if I did end up there, I vowed to still do my best to completely derail their plans.

As Cedric was about to speak again, a nearby clock chimed and I turned my head to look at the one mounted on the wall. 3:45 P.M.

"Oh, bloody hell! I'm to be home by 4," I muttered. Cedric looked at me funny.

"Are you here by yourself?" He asked. I nodded, sighing.

"My parents aren't really into family excursions. At least not when it's me." I laughed off the seriousness of my statement.

"Well, my father and I could take you home. Of course, if you are comfortable with that. We did sort of just meet." I laughed but felt suddenly an overwhelming feeling of welcome and gratefulness towards this Hufflepuff boy I had just met.

"I wouldn't want to put you out-"

"Oh, it's really no problem at all, come on, my father is just outside," Cedric said, nudging his shoulder. My next biggest worry was suddenly about all my things and getting it all home.

"Dad, my new friend here is stuck in Diagon Alley, doesn't have a way home. Could we help her out?" A cheery-looking man turned to face us with a large smile.

"Oh of course! Hello Dear. Amos Diggory. How do you do?" I smiled as I felt the man's joyful energy radiating off of him and was instantly at ease.

"Phillipa. Nice to meet you. I am a tad worried, I have a lot of things to get home as well." I said, nervously cracking my knuckles. Mr. Diggory's smile never left his face.

"Not a problem dear, here's this." And with a swish of his wand, all my belongings, including Neptune had shrunk down to a miniature size and he placed my things into a small bag.

"Brilliant!" I exclaimed, excitedly.

"Now, Dear. Where are we headed?" Mr. Diggory asked as we walked.

"Wiltshire," I muttered. He turned his head.

"Oh my, that is out there." I didn't look at him as my face flushed, "Not matter! We travel by Portkey mostly anyway."

"Portkey..." I trailed off, looking to Cedric.

"You'll see."

~

After exiting Diagon Alley into a more open area of land, we came to a stop at an old boot in the grass.

"Portkey," Cedric said. I couldn't help but laugh.

"A boot?" He laughed.

"Patience." Mr. Diggory picked up the boot and Cedric grabbed on. I hesitantly reached towards it.

"Might want to hold on," Cedric said, extending his elbow. I raised my eyebrows, confused.

"What?" But when the world around us began to swirl and I could feel my feet lifting off the ground, I quickly latched onto his arm, tightly. Cedric laughed. I tried my best to keep the contents of my stomach down as we hurdled through what felt like time and space.

"Let go!" Cedric yelled.

"Are you mad!?" I yelled back over the wild winds.

"Just trust me!" On a whim, I followed suit in letting go of the boot. I had initially let go of Cedric's arm and found myself landing hard and fast on the grass, groaning. I looked up to see Mr. Diggory and Cedric gracefully floating down to the grass below.

"You're kidding right?" I asked. Cedric laughed, helping me up.

"How was that?" He asked. I stared at him with my big blue eyes.

"I think I left me lunch back in the air." Cedric bumped my arm with his own, giving me a warm smile.

"Hell of a first impression, I'll give you that," I added, fixing my glasses. Mr. Diggory laughed, fishing my school supplies out of the little bag and sending them back to life-size objects.

"I can't thank you enough, Mr. Diggory," I stressed.

"Oh please, Dear. Amos. And it was our pleasure." I smiled at the two.

"So, I'll be seeing you at Hogwarts, we should catch up then," Cedric said. I nodded, smiling. As he and Mr. Diggory began to walk away, I was suddenly struck with an idea.

"Wait!" I called out. Cedric turned his head, curiously, walking back over.

"Are you okay?" He asked. I frantically grabbed a piece of parchment, a quill, and popped open a bottle of ink, scribbling out my address with my name.

"Here," I said, handing him the paper.

"Your address?" He smirked at me. My cheeks flushed red.

"Write sometime, yeah? You seem like an interesting person." I said, brushing the hair out of my face. Cedric smiled, pocketing the parchment.

"Will do. You seem like an interesting person as well, Pippa." Pippa. I couldn't help but smile at the name.

"Thank you again," I called as they soared off to their next destination.

~

It had been about a week and I had received no letters from Cedric. I sighed, glancing at Neptune every once in a while who just cocked his little head at me, making me smile.

At the end of the week, just a couple of days before I prepared to depart for school, an owl I didn't recognize came to my window. It had a letter. I tried not to get too excited as I retrieved the letter and gave the owl a treat before it flew off.

Ms. Phillipa Malfoy. Enclosed is a timetable with your class schedule for your first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

I twisted my face into a forced grin as I tried not to let my disappointment take over as I had assumed it was from Cedric. Though, just my luck, as I read through my classes for the year, another owl arrived, holding another letter. Containing any excitement I had, I untied the parchment and fed the owl a treat. It flew off.

Pippa.

Dearest Pippa,

Just kidding. Did you like the formality of that greeting? I certainly didn't. My sincerest apologies for my lack of communication with you. You won't believe how busy everything has been lately. I won't bore you with the details. Yet. But do know I have been thinking about you and did not forget you. I have to say, I am very glad I met you in Flourish and Blotts that day last week. I feel strongly that our's will be a good friendship if you wish to partake, of course. I look forward to seeing you at school very soon. Here's to hoping for Hufflepuff. Did you like my alliteration use?

Anyhow. I hope you have a lovely last few days of relaxation and freedom from school and I will see you soon.

Best,

Cedric

I smiled at the letter so hard I felt my face begin to ache. I never really had a friend before and now I was writing to almost a complete stranger I met in a bookshop. Who knew! I frantically grabbed parchment and a quill and began construction on my response.

Dearest Cedric,

Personally, I liked your dramatic flair in your greeting. Please do not apologize, life happens. I would love to hear about your busy goings-on soon, so please do be ready to share. I am also very glad I met you in the bookshop. Excusing how this might sound, I have never really had a friend before and you are fulfilling the position wonderfully so far. I feel strongly that our's will be a good friendship as well, and I happily accept my participation in said friendship. And I did like your use of alliteration very much.

Enjoy the last few days of summer. See you soon.

\- Pippa.

P.S. thank you for the nickname. I've never had one before.

I addressed the letter and sent it off with Neptune after giving him a treat. Laying down on my bed, I smiled at my ceiling. This was going to be a good year. I knew it.

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> long chapter wow. i actually really like this one lol. update soon. word count: 2220


	5. Marnie and The Sorting Hat

I felt my breath catch in my throat as I followed the line of students into the Great Hall. I had seen it many times before but it felt different as I officially started my first year at Hogwarts tonight.

As I stood near the back of the alphabetized line, I quickly grew anxious and slightly impatient as the Sorting Hat began to, well, sort. I found myself paying attention to the two, rather obnoxious boys in front of me as the line crept forward, calling names out. It clawed at the back of my mind why I was with the W's instead of the M's as I rarely was referred to anything other than McGonagall. 

They were a bit taller than me and had striking red hair. I grimaced as one had accidentally bumped into me.

"Oh sorry, there!" He turned around and looked at me. I shook my head, brushing it off.

"It's fine," I replied. The other twin had now turned around, smiling brightly at me.

"Well isn't that a funny accent and where are you from?" The one who hadn't bumped into me asked? I felt peeved at the question.

"Yeah, yer one to talk," I muttered in response. The boys leaned down to my height.

"We absolutely would," they said together. My cheeks were dusted red as I stared at them.

Edinburgh," I replied. The twins nodded, smiling.

"Well, that is just fascinating. What's your name, Edinburgh?" One asked. I rolled my eyes as the line moved forward. I couldn't help but feel slightly relieved that these boys were talking to me, being sociable.

"Marnie." I offered.

"Got a last name, Marnie?"

"McGonagall," I said, quieter than before. The boys raised their eyebrows.

"You're related to her?" I nodded as they pointed up, biting at my lip.

"But she's..."

"Old? I know. I'm her great-niece." I explained. I wasn't particularly sure why I was giving my life story to these boys whose names I didn't even know yet but I didn't feel any regret towards it. 

"Interesting. Well, I'm Fred and this here is my brother George," they said. Good luck keeping those two straight, I thought.

"Nice to meet you," I said. The line moved up. Names had been called and students sorted quickly.

"So, here all by your lonesome?" The one who I was almost positive was Fred asked.

"In this line, yes. I have an older brother but I don't have a twin," She explained, "obviously there's two of you but is there anyone else?" Marnie inquired. The twins pointed over to the Gryffindor table where she spotted two other red-heads sitting at the table.

"Those two lads there are our older brothers, Charlie and Percy." The other twin explained. I nodded.

"Wow. cool." I wasn't sure what else to say. My eyes did however catch sight of my own brother, Mavis also sitting at the Gryffindor table.

"Oh, there's my brother." I pointed. It seemed that Mavis was sitting with Charlie. 

"Mavis is your brother?" The twin asked. I nodded, absently, not thinking much of it.

"We've got two more at home." My eyes widened, turning my attention back to the boys.

"Two more? There's more of you?" I asked.

"Annnnnd, the oldest Bill, he's in Eygpt." My eyes widened more if that was even possible.

"That is way too many redheads," I said. The twins laughed at my comment but I was being deadly serious. They soon caught onto my serious nature and just simply smiled. They weren't taken aback or offended by my sort of judgemental nature. That's new, I thought.

"So, you reckon you'll be a Gryffindor then?" I asked, shifting the topic. The twins nodded.

"Pretty sure. Otherwise, our mum might kill us." I exhaled, in a way laughing lightly.

"Yeah." I agreed, quickly. The twins looked at each other then looked back at me.

"Well, you'd better hope you get Gryffindor too then, McGonagall." I nodded, remembering who my family was, feeling a pit in my stomach. I heard in the distance at the front of the room, Phillipa Malfoy.

The twins jerked their heads to see where she would go.

"Ay, isn't that the las who couldn't find the platform?" George said. I picked up on the fact that George was ever so slightly taller and had a mole on the right side of his neck. Peculiar, but I noted to keep that in mind.

"I believe it is, brother mine," Fred replied.

"Slytherin!" The sorting hat yelled. Fred's face fell ever so slightly.

"Bloody shame," he muttered. As time passed, the twins continued to talk with me and I continued finding myself not tired or annoyed.

"Ella Quincy." My Great Aunt said. A girl with short brown hair sat down. She had a rather stoic-looking face as the hat shouted her house.

"Gryffindor!" She smiled lightly and walked off to her house. We began to move quickly through the line and I could feel my heartbeat picking up. Fred went up before George sitting in the chair. McGonagall placed the hat down on his head and he closed his eyes.

"Gryffindor!" It shouted. I glanced over to the Gryffindor table to see his brothers clapping and cheering as he bounced over. George went up next and was greeted with the same results.

"Gryffindor!" I didn't realize I was smiling until I sat down. I was looking over to the twins and the rest of the Weasley's also catching the eye of a brown-haired boy seated with the curly redhead sibling. He flashed me a quick smile and I looked down. The Weasleys shot me "thumbs-ups" and big smiles. As I sat in anticipation, I hoped and prayed that I would be with Gryffindor. Make my parents proud, make my aunt proud, get to be with the newfound friends I met. I tried my best to ignore the feeling it wasn't going to go the way I wanted.

As if in slow motion, I heard my name being called, "Marnie Willow-McGonagall." My Great aunt placed the ancient hat on my head and her hand on my shoulder, comfortingly. I tried to contain the tiny smile resting on my face.

I held my breath, "Slytherin!" My smile tightened and I looked at my aunt with desperation. McGonagall's face was unreadable to me as I was whisked away to the Slytherin table. My sour look from earlier tonight returned as I looked back at Gryffindor. The twins' smiles had fallen slightly as did the boy who smiled at me. I glanced at my older brother, also a Gryffindor, whose face was just as undetectable as McGonagall's. It made me worry more.

I took a few deep breaths and regained composure. Deep down I already knew I wasn't going to be in Gryffindor. And Slytherin was a pretty cool house anyway. I sat down, still staring at the table.

"Hey," I heard. I looked up and to find I was being smiled at by a girl right across from me.

"Hello," I said in my usual uninterested tone.

"I'm Pippa," the girl said. I looked up, suddenly intrigued. She had her hand extended. I grasped it, returning the handshake.

"Marnie."

"Nice to meet you, Marnie!" She had a warm smile. I had then concluded that maybe, this wasn't going to be so bad.

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! introducing marnie!! i am very excited for this little series! i have spent SO MUCH time planning and i am so excited to finally be putting their stories in motion! i am going to try my best to put everything in the most chronological order but some might be kind of out of place so just go with it lol. hopefully not too long of gaps between updates. word count: 1300


	6. Pippa and Platform 9¾

"Is Miss Pippa all packed?" I smiled down at Dobby, nodding my head.

"Yes, Dobby. Thank you very much for all your help." I said, picking up one of my trunks.

"Does Miss Pippa need assistance with her trunks?" He asked as I looked down at the other one. Neptune, my Little Owl bounced around his cage. I smiled at him.

"Yes, thank you." Dobby snapped his fingers and my other trunk and Neptune's cage also lifted into the air. We walked silently down the dark corridor, I was hopeful to avoid anyone else home.

"Phillipa." I felt myself cringe at the sound of Lucious's voice and the use of my full name.

"Yes?" I asked, turning around. His face was still bent into that ever-present scowl that appeared only around me. Narcissa stood silently next to him, gazing at me with her equally-present glossed-over, strangely sympathetic look.

"Are you all packed?" Lucious asked. I tried my best to hide my own sarcastic comment, biting my lip.

"Yes."

"Very well. We will see you on Holiday." Lucious said. I stood, feeling a little dumbfounded.

"You're not dropping me off?" I asked, my voice small. I noticed Draco had peaked his little blonde head out from around the corner. I gave a tiny smile and he laughed.

"No. Be sure to aim for Slytherin," was all he said. My eyes widened. It wasn't at all that I minded being in Slytherin. But, I wondered how in Merlin's name he expected me to get to the train station, let alone Hogwarts all by myself?

"Goodbye, Phillipa," Narcissa said before everything around me went blurry and I was being thrown through the atmosphere. Everything calmed down when I found myself against a brick wall with my trunks on a cart, topped by Neptune's cage in the middle of a busy train station.

How in Merlin..." I trailed off. Lucious often used his own legal apparition powers to move me places so he needn't to be present. I had gotten used to it most of the time, yet here I was, heartbeat thumping in my head and my nerves beginning to go. Taking a shaky breath, I pushed her trolly out towards the walkway, surrounded by people. I noticed a note placed in my hand.

Locate Platform 9¾. The train leaves at 9 AM Sharp.

"Nine and ¾ that can't be correct," I muttered staring at the signs for platforms 9 and 10. My breathing sped up a bit as the large bell tower clock chimed signaling 8:45 AM.

Bloody brilliant. I have fifteen minutes to find a platform that seemingly doesn't exist. Taking a chance, I tapped the shoulder of a young woman, inhaling sharply. She turned around, her face contorted into an annoyed expression.

"So sorry to bother you, Miss. Would you happen to know where Platform 9¾ is located?" I asked, showing her the note. The women looked down at me, scoffing.

"Look, young lady. I really don't have time for your rubbish. Are you mad? There is no such thing as a platform 9¾." With that, she stalked off, looking back once more at me with a frustrated look. I sighed, the feeling in my stomach only growing worse.

I had gone about asking a couple of others who all looked at me the same way. Giving up, I pushed my trolly to the pillar between the 9th and 10th platforms and leaned against the wall, trying to hide my now freely-flowing tears. I kept my head towards the ground while Neptune chirped periodically. My crying worsened as the clock moved closer to 9 AM.

"Um, excuse me, Miss?" I quickly wiped my eyes, sniffing. Ahead of me was a young boy with red hair and a sweater with an F embroidered into it.

"Are you alright?" He asked. I nodded my head, silently. I knew it was hardly convincing. The boy looked at me knowingly. I shook my head.

"Maybe I could help?" He asked. I shrugged.

"Do you know where I could find Platform 9¾?" I whispered, fearing judgment from other people I had asked. The boy smiled brightly.

"Actually, I do." I whipped my head up, meeting his brown eyes. I sniffed once more, wiping my puffy eyes from under my foggy glasses.

"You do?" The boy nodded.

"I'm headed to the same place. Come on." He turned back, looking at me, telling me to follow. I looked past him to see an entire group of redheads all standing by the middle pillar between 9 and 10. As I followed the young boy, I gasped as an older redhead, with all his belongings ran straight into the pillar, disappearing from sight.

"Where did he go?" I whispered to the boy, who laughed at the comment.

"To Platform 9¾." I stared at him in disbelief.

"Don't believe me? Why don't we go together then?" He said. Hesitantly, I nodded. Just before the pair, a girl with long, curly brown hair ran through the pillar just after glaring at another redhead boy.

"Right. Bye, mum!" The boy said, waving. She smiled, blowing him a kiss. I felt my chest aching, seeing this family all traveling together, able to say goodbye.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked, my voice shaking a bit. The boy smiled at me and I felt my nerves suddenly dissolving. I was nearly overwhelmed with comfort and compassion, all new to me.

"H-how about..." the boy started, "I could, hold your hand... ya know, to make sure you get through?" I felt heat rise to my face as I smiled shyly. I nodded.

"Oi, Freddie, what is the holdup?" Another voice said. I was suddenly reminded of the minutes ticking down until the train leaves. The boy seemed to remember too as he shyly grabbed my hand. I gathered the courage to run through what I thought looked like just a brick wall. I ran forward, holding my breath, and this stranger's hand as we vanished through the wall together.

When I opened my eyes, there was an entire other train station crowded with students just like this boy and me. My mouth fell open with a wide smile.

"Look! We made it!" The redhead boy said, his voice laced with sarcasm. But I couldn't seem to care. All I could focus on was the amazing sights in front of me.

"Come on, Wondergirl, we'll miss the train." The boy gently held my arm, guiding me through the crowd.

I had momentarily lost the boy whilst I boarded my trunks. Almost aimlessly, I wandered down an aisle, searching for an empty compartment. There didn't seem any open as I began to lose confidence again.

Suddenly, someone was pulling my arm and I was falling into a compartment.

"What the-"

"Hello there, Wondergirl." It was the voice of the boy from the station. I now found myself sitting opposite two identical redhead boys and sitting next to the girl with the curly hair from earlier. I looked over at her. She had a copy of The Daily Prophet in her hands.

"They hijacked my compartment." She muttered, brushing some curls out of her face.

"There's two of them," I whispered to her. The girl rolled her eyes.

"Unfortunately," She said, "I'm Ella, by the way." The girl said. I smiled.

"Phillipa," Ella cocked her eyebrow. I glanced over to the two boys.

"I'm George." One said.

"I'm Fred." The other said. They each had a jumper with their respective initials.

"Got a nickname, Phillipa?" Fred said. I felt my heart nearly stopped in my chest. I could not get over the way my name rolled off his tongue. I found myself almost stuck in the thought before Ella nudged my shoulder. A warm blush began to rise to my face.

"Oh, well, our house elves call me Pippa sometimes," I said. As soon as I had said the name, I felt more like myself and less like what Lucious wanted me to be. With this, I smiled.

"Yeah, Pippa," I confirmed.

"It's nice to meet you, Pippa." Once again, I felt the blood in my veins freeze and I audibly cut my inhale short. Ella chuckled.

"Wow." She muttered.

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> introducing pippa!! update soon! word count: 1340


	7. Ella and the Red Head Nuisance

"And you've got all your things?" I nodded, smiling excitedly at Dad, as he smiled.

"Alright then, let's go." My leg bounced as I sat in the front seat of my father's car. He drove in the same careful and cautious way he always had and I sat impatiently, per usual. I liked to move fast and he enjoyed taking life slowly. And usually, I had no issue with this.

Except when I want to get somewhere for some really important reason. Oh, I know! Like not missing the train and starting off my first year at Hogwarts on a good foot. 

"Dad, is there any way you could drive a little faster?" He chuckled.

"We will get there on time, El, relax. Please." I took a deep breath and tried to focus on anything else.

"Is Mum coming to the station?" I asked, attempting to keep my hopes down. Dad glanced over to me with a sad smile.

"'Fraid not, Dear." He said. I nodded, not overly surprised but also unable to ignore the sting in my chest.

When we arrived at the station, I held my Barn Owl, Artemis' cage, and pushed along one of my bags. Dad held the other. I blew a strand of my unruly curls out of my face. We walked along to Platform 9 ¾ and I suddenly was able to see a woman with identical hair and features to mine standing by the platform, frantically waving. I gasped, smiling. I looked back at Dad who was also smiling but avoiding my eye contact.

"You liar," I muttered, smiling. I made my way over to my Mum who took my things and placed them on the ground, then engulfing me in a hug.

"Dad said you weren't going to make it," I breathed. Mum pushed some of my hair away.

"That's what makes it a surprise, Dear." I smiled, hugging Mum tighter.

"Got all your things?" Mum asked. I nodded, checking. She smiled, ruffling my hair.

"Mum, I've got a thing going," I said, backing away. This made her laugh, glancing at Dad. I turned my head as the bell tower clock chimed.

"Almost time my dear," Mum said. She handed me a couple of galleons and a copy of the Daily Prophet.

"For the trolly, and this is for the train ride, but do try to make some friends while you're at it, yeah?" She said. Her dark brown eyes looked tired as she looked at me and I realized how excited I was to have actually seen Mum.

"Yeah." Dad smiled, placing my other trunk onto my trolly and securing it down.

"So, you see that wall right there?" Mum said, pulling me closer. I noticed a large group of redheads also standing by the wall. One with curly hair had just run through.

"Yeah," I replied.

"You're going to run directly into it," Mum said, with a smile. "Do you want me to go with you?" I shook my head.

"No, I can do it," I said. Mum smiled.

"Always the independent."

"Pardon? Run into that wall?" Dad interrupted. Mum laughed.

"Relax, Oscar. I've done it hundreds of times." He relaxed a little.

"If she splatters onto the ground, I'm blaming you." Dad laughed, making Mum crack up as well. I glanced at them, feeling a familiar pit in my stomach. The pit I got whenever I saw them getting along splendidly and I asked myself why they ever split up in the first place.

Shaking the feeling, I hugged my parents goodbye and wandered over to the wall. I noticed two identical redhead boys who looked to be about my age, one standing alongside a panicked-looking girl sporting dark hair and glasses. He had an F embroidered on his jumper.

"Excuse me." I whipped my head around. I was faced with the doppelganger of the boy with the F on his jumper. This one had a G.

"Yes?" I felt myself immediately becoming annoyed as he smiled smugly at me for seemingly no good reason. 

"Are you going to go through? Or just stand in front of the wall, gazing for hours?" I scoffed and he still stood, smiling at me.

Without saying a word, I geared up to run into the seemingly solid brick wall. Just before I did, I turned back, glared at the boy, and ran through.

I hadn't realized I had closed my eyes but upon opening them, I was in another train station, just as crowded but with people who mirrored me with their owls and their wands and their trunks for school.

I passed off my luggage to a train attendant and carried Artemis and The Daily Prophet onto the train and plopped down in the first empty compartment I saw. Brilliant, I thought to myself. Enjoying the silence of the compartment, I began reading the sports section.

England loses to Ireland 150-40. Ireland lands ticket to World Cup.

Figures, I thought. I continued reading but was suddenly interrupted by the two redhead nuisances from the station.

"Oh, you've got to be joking-" I muttered.

"Hello again." I ignored them.

"You know this girl?" The other asked. The other twin nodded.

"Lovely lass who was holding up the line to the station." My eyes narrowed as I glared at the boy.

"Some of us don't have a million siblings to tell us all about the Wizarding World." I sneered.

"I'm Fred and this is my brother, George." I chose to not acknowledge them.

"I didn't catch your name," George said. I scoffed again, feeling tired.

"Funny. I didn't throw it." I replied without looking up. George snickered.

"Oh, she's a hoot, Freddie." Suddenly, the one called Fred was up and out of the compartment but quickly returned with that girl from the station.

"Hello there, Wondergirl." I heard him say. The girl was now sitting down next to me.

"They hijacked my compartment," I said, brushing some stray curls from my eyes.

"There's two of them." The girl whispered to me. I glanced up at the two idiots sitting across from us.

"Unfortunately," I sighed," I'm Ella by the way." The girl smiled back at me.

"Phillipa." I raised her eyebrows. Interesting name. She glanced over at the twins.

"I'm George."

"I'm Fred." It was now clear to me the representative initials gracing each of their jumpers.

"Got a nickname, Phillipa?" Fred asked. I watched as Phillipa froze, red creeping up her neck and into her face. She seemed to get stuck. I nudged the paralyzed girl with my shoulder.

"Well, our house elves call me Pippa sometimes." She managed out. I noticed Phillipa visibly relax and then she smiled.

"Yeah, Pippa." She confirmed.

"It's nice to meet you, Pippa." I watched, painfully, once again as Pippa's face flooded with colour and heard her breath catch in her throat. I tossed my gaze back down to the Quidditch results, chuckling.

"Wow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is shitty i don't really know what this is lmao. we'll work on it. update soon. word count: 1147


	8. Pippa and the House of Salazar Slytherin

I stood patiently in line with the other first-year students, waiting to be sorted. My curious eyes continued to survey the room, the ceiling taking most of my attention. As I stared up at the candles, mildly dazing out, I felt a light tug on my robes.

I dropped my head back down to eye level and turned to the left.

"Hello, there stranger." My face dissolved into a smile as I was greeted by Cedric who was seated at the Hufflepuff table next to where I stood.

"Fancy seeing you here!" I mused, dramatically.

"Can't wait to see you in those yellow robes." He joked. I rolled my eyes.

"You wish." Cedric just smiled and waved as I moved up with the line. Truthfully, I hadn't thought much about what house I wanted to be in. It didn't really matter much to me. Of course, to Lucious and Narcissa, it meant everything that their eldest would be in Slytherin. And if I was, it wouldn't change anything about how I am now.

I had been lost in thought for a while as the line crept up. I did think very much about how it would be nice to be in Hufflepuff with Cedric. Making a friend was something I was incredibly proud of. But, if I could make a friend in Diagon Alley, it couldn't be so difficult making friends here, right?

"Phillipa Malfoy." I shook out of my daze and sat down in the chair whilst Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on my dark hair.

Barely taking any time to think, it called out, "Slytherin!" I immediately felt a sense of relief and pride as I stood from the seat and walked over to the Slytherin table. I was greeted instantly by friendly faces and smiles and people shaking my hand.

I glanced over to Cedric who smirked at me. I stuck my tongue out and he laughed. I didn't pay much mind to the rest of the ceremony until a handful of interesting names cause my attention.

"Ella Quincy, Gryffindor." It was the girl from the train. And later on,

"Fred Weasley, Gryffindor." It was Fred from the same train!

"George Weasley, Gryffindor." I watched as Ella rolled her eyes, going back to her conversation with another girl.

And lastly, "Marnie Willow-Mcgonagall, Slytherin." The name sounded incredibly familiar and I pondered it as she sat down across from me. She looked like she didn't want anyone to talk to her but I sucked in a breath and decided to jump in feet first.

"Hey." The girl with dark hair and bangs glanced over at me.

"Hello." She replied.

"I'm Pippa."

"Marnie." The black-haired girl said. I did my best to give a warm smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Marnie!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short little thing. i didn't really have a lot of ideas for this one so we'll just go with it. update soon. word count: 490


	9. The Twisted Witches Trio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: hello! don't mind me just a quick warning: super brief, non-in-depth mention of death. other than that no warnings needed! carry on :)

"Do you know why you are all here?" Snape's voice was sickly and demeaning.

"Because you just love us?" Marnie answered. She had her feet up on the desk, leaning back in her chair.

"No, McGonagall. You are here because you decided to fill my office with dung bombs." Snape growled. Marnie smiled.

"Ah! Yes. It was a pleasure." Marnie said, smiling wickedly.

"And you two," Snape turned to Ella and Pippa, "lashing out and in class, Ms. Quincy and passing notes in class, Ms. Malfoy." Pippa's face paled.

"You will serve detention here for an hour, Ms. Quincy and Malfoy. 2 hours for you McGonagall," Snape said.

"What would you like us to do, teach? And! Why must I stay here an hour longer?" Marnie asked, thoroughly amused.

"Because I don't like you, McGonagall." Marnie scoffed, a smile curling onto her lips.

"That's quite an unfair bias, wouldn't you say?" Snape's stone-cold expression remained.

"Would you like to make it 3 hours?" Marnie pulled her feet off the desk, leaning forward.

"Would you?" Snape exhaled slowly, turning his attention back to the other girls.

"Ignore her." He said. Ella snickered quietly, looking over at Marnie who winked back. Pippa stayed quiet, afraid to get herself in more trouble.

"You'll all be writing lines. And McGonagall, when you are done with lines, you'll clap erasers." Marnie rolled her eyes.

"Brilliant. Would you like me to-"

"Be quiet, McGonagall. You'll be writing I will not pull pranks." Marnie snickered, knowing that would never be true.

"Ms. Malfoy, you will write I will not pass notes. And Ms. Quincy, you will write I will be on time for class. Understand?

"Yes Professor." The girls answered. Snape glared at the three girls before taking his seat. Marnie, Ella, and Pippa all pulled parchment and their quills out with little pots of ink. Pippa got started right away while Ella and Marnie stalled a bit. Marnie doodled on her parchment, snickering to herself as she sketched Snape being hit by the dung bombs she tossed into his office. She folded it into a paper airplane and flew it over to Ella.

She opened the paper and laughed quietly, bumping Pippa's arm. She smiled quickly, glancing up at Snape to make sure he wasn't watching. Pippa, being the artist that she is, sketched more details onto the parchment, making it pop more and come to life. Ella refolded the paper, flying it back over to Marnie.

"McGonagall. Wipe that smug look off of your face. Are you writing your lines?" Snape growled. Marnie smiled.

"Absolutely, I am not, sir." She said. Snape's glare intensified. Pippa kept her head down while Ella picked at her nails. Professor Flitwick entered the chamber just as Snape was going to speak again.

"McGonagall has requested the teachers to her office." He said quickly. Snape glanced back from Flitwick to the girls.

"I'm running detention." He said.

"Minerva said it's urgent." Flitwick urged.

"Severus, you should go, we'll be perfectly fine in your absence," Marnie said, drawn-out and lazily. She had placed her Mary-Janes back on the desk, leaning back in her chair. Snape grimaced, knowing fully well Marnie would not be responsible in the slightest.

"If I come back and the room is destroyed, hexed, or on fire, you will be serving detention with me for a month, McGonagall." He said, under his breath.

"It would be my pleasure, Severus." He glared at her before following Flitwick out of the room. Silence hung in the room.

"You are insufferable, you know that right?" Ella asked, laughing. Marnie dramatically swung her feet off the desk and sauntered over to her friends' desk, sitting on top.

"It's my mission in life." She said, brushing some of her black bangs out of her face.

"Pip, you look like you've swallowed a whole bucket of slugs. Are you alright?" Marnie asked, swinging her legs.

"I'm alright. I just don't fancy detention." She said, quietly. The green ribbon in her hair was tied neatly parting her hair, half up and half down.

"Ah. Right, well perhaps Marnie and I will teach you how to pass notes to the love of your life without being caught." Ella joked, standing up and stretching her legs. Pippa's face flushed red as she tried to defend herself.

"I was not-"

"It's alright, Pip. We know how you feel about him and support you completely." Marnie said with a friendly smile.

"I don't feel anything for Fred, we are friends-"

"Interesting. We didn't say anything about Fred." Ella teased. Pippa groaned, placing her head down on the table.

"Please don't tell." She muttered.

"My goodness, Pip, we would never. Friends don't do that." Marnie exclaimed.

"Besides, we haven't told anyone about Marnie's love for Oliver, so of course we wouldn't say anything about Fred," Ella said. Marnie nodded, assertively.

"Yes, dear. I am blowing that situation up all by myself, so don't worry." Ella and Pippa laughed.

"So, lovely ladies, what should we do? Snape gave us some lovely options, are we feeling a good hexing? Or perhaps we fancy just destroying it? I think we should leave the fire out, don't want to burn the whole castle down. That would be difficult to hide." Marnie mused.

"Well! If it isn't the lovely Twisted Witches Trio." The girls' heads all turned to the doorway where Lee Jordan and the Weasley Twins marched into the room.

"Twisted Witches Trio?" Ella questioned. Lee nodded.

"Yes." Fred and George said together. Marnie looked at her friends.

"Get it?" Marnie teased. Ella nodded, smiling at the floor. Pippa rolled her eyes smiling.

"Right right, cause of the divorced parents' thing?" Ella said.

"And the bully/neglectful, blood purist parents thing?" Pippa added.

"Ah, yes, and the dead parents thing, right?" Marnie finished.

"Right on, ladies." The three girls looked around at each other, smiling.

"Yeah. We're getting along just fine." Pippa said, putting her arms around both Marnie and Ella's shoulders. Marnie leaned her head on Pippa's shoulder.

"Right we are Pip."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a poorly written imagine about the bond between the three characters. i wish it was better lol. maybe ill edit it. who knows. update soon! Word count: 1060


	10. Marnie and the Quidditch Tryouts

Second Year

"You should try out for Quidditch," Fred said suddenly one day as we walked down the corridor.

"Ya think?" I asked. Pippa was moving quickly to keep up as we walked.

"Why not? Might as well. I'm sure you would do some good branching out from pissing off Percy." George chuckled as we made it to the Fat Lady Portrait entrance of the Gryffindor common room. I caught Nora Black through the corner of my eye, reading. 

"Is Ella already here?" I asked as we stepped through. Pippa nodded

"She said she'd be here but I wouldn't be surprised if she was in the library or something," Pippa replied. Plopping down on the couch, I rest my feet on the coffee table.

"Feet off the table McGonagall." Percy Weasley, my least favorite so far had suddenly appeared along with Oliver Wood. my lips curled into a devilish smile.

"Carrot top! How I have missed you!" I said, long and drawn out and dripping with sarcasm. Percy rolled his eyes.

"Slytherins aren't even supposed to be in here," he muttered. I fake pouted.

"You let Pippa stay. Pippa's Slytherin too." I point out. He smiles curtly.

"Pippa is a better Slytherin than you," he said. I sighed loudly, my stupid smile never leaving my face.

"Off so soon?" I drew out. Percy rolled his eyes.

"Oh the quicker to get away from you," he replied. I casually stuck my middle finger up as he glanced around the room again. 

"Until next time Carrot Top. I'll be counting the minutes.'' Percy rolled his eyes and walked out the door.

"Ripping apart Percy again are we?" Oliver said, sitting down. I raise my eyebrows knowingly.

"Aren't we always?" I replied. Oliver had a small grin resting on his lips and I felt my stomach turn.

"By we she means herself." my head turned to Ella as she wandered through the portrait door.

"Ahh Grid!" George said, standing and greeting her. She rolled her eyes, walking past.

"Piss off Weasley," she grumbled. Pippa rolled her eyes, ready to diffuse a fight. Ella and George had been at each other for a few years now.

"See, I'm not the only one with a Weasley vendetta," I replied. Oliver laughed lightly. I didn't really know him well other than he's on the Gryffindor quidditch team. Keeper. He's pretty good.

"Marnie you said you wanted to talk about something?" Ella asked, plopping down on another couch. She has taken her robes off and rolled up the sleeves of her blouse. She loosened her tie.

"Long day?" I asked, suddenly self-conscious about quidditch. Oliver is a really good player and obviously getting better and the twins are also on the team.

"Yeah, I suppose," she said, a bit thrown off.

"You had a thing-"

"You look stressed." I blurted. Ella raised her eyebrows. Pippa looked between the two of us.

"Wha-"

"I didn't have anything to talk about, actually, I'm going to just... I have a potions question," I said, standing suddenly. I didn't have a potions question but had begun to panic. I don't usually have issues with what people think of me but I honestly felt like rubbish asking for help.

I tried my best to recall the 1 lesson we were given as First Year's as I grabbed a broom from the cupboard, wandering to the pitch. The sun was starting to sink and I knew there wouldn't be anyone there. Laying the broom on the ground, I held my hand out.

"Up," I said and the wood flew into my hand. I smiled. Right, this couldn't be so hard. I mounted the broom, taking a couple of deep breaths.

I was surprised at my lack of nerves as I slowly rose off the ground. There was a thrill of being in the air that was drowning out the doubt and fear at the back of my mind.

A mix of an excited cheer and gasp of surprise flew from my mouth as I suddenly soared upward. I sat in place for a few minutes, gazing at the view around me.

Hogwarts, way below me, and the sunset, directly ahead. I felt an odd comfort 30 feet above the ground as the wind picked up a bit. I flew back and forth around the pitch as I accustomed myself to the game I had watched a handful of times before. I didn't know what I wanted to be yet, the chasers get to move around the most, the seeker's job is incredibly difficult, I don't think I'd be any good as a beater, and the keeper just... sits.

As I whipped around the field a couple more times, I had decided I would try for a chaser position. I would probably have to check for an open spot. I couldn't keep the smile off of my face as I began to descend a little.

What I didn't expect was the massive air pocket and burst of heavy wind that suddenly sent me plummeting to the ground. I tried to grasp the broom as I came to terms with what was happening.

Too preoccupied, I couldn't get any sound out of my mouth as I fell.

"Shit," I whispered. I closed my eyes and waited for the brutal force of the ground beneath me.

But it never came. I never hit the ground but instead was caught by something, or more likely someone. Strong arms that were holding me above the dreaded ground.

"My, my Marnie, I didn't realize you were such a catch."

A sultry Scottish voice was ringing through my ears. Opening my eyes slowly, my face rests in a glare as I stare back at Oliver wood's brown eyes. He had a cheeky smile on his face.

"Piss off," I said. He looked amused.

"I just made sure you didn't crack your skull open on this pitch and you tell me to piss off?" he laughs. I roll my eyes, leaning myself upright.

"Thank you for catching me. Now piss off," I said, pulling away from his warm grasp. I had suddenly felt a little colder.

"What were you doing?" he asked. My cheeks burned a little red but I held my composure.

"I was making a potion," I said, crossing my arms. Wood just smiled patiently. That almost bugged me more than a reaction.

"Well, must've been a strong one if it knocked you off the broom," he said, also crossing his arms. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, it was actually. I'm actually-"

"Strangely good at potions." Oliver said, "I know. You're in my advanced class." my heartbeat sped up at his remembrance of that tiny detail. The sun sank lower into the ground and I began to make up an excuse in my head to leave.

"I should be going," I said, bluntly. Oliver just smiled politely.

"See ya around McGonagall," he said. I nodded.

"I'll see you around Wood. And erm, thanks for catching me." Oliver shifted his weight with a flirty smile.

"I'll always catch you."

~

It had been about a week since my encounter with the infamous keeper of the Gryffindor team. Hurriedly, and out of character for me, I paced into Mcgonagall's study. She was seated at her desk.

"Hello dear," she said without looking up. I sat down in a chair across from her.

"Hello," I replied, quickly finding I was too anxious to sit.

"Tryouts are today right?" she said. I nodded, wringing my fingers out.

"Yeah," I said. My aunt pulled her glasses off and looked at me.

"Well. I have something that might help you," she said. I looked at her quizzically and waited. McGonagall disappeared into a back chamber of her office and returned with a Comet Two Ninety broom. My mouth fell open.

"What-"

"I know you haven't been training with this but it's a good model and I've been saving it for today," McGonagall said with a smile. My mouth curved upward into a smile.

"I don't know what to say- thank you, McGonagall," I said, really unable to contain my own excitement.

"If and when you make the team, this broom is yours to keep." I suddenly got a sinking feeling.

"And if I don't make it?" I said, quietly. McGonagall didn't miss a beat.

"You will make the team."

~

I stuck a stone-cold look on my face long before tryouts started but my stomach was going berserk. I vomited twice before walking onto the pitch in my gear and with my new broom. The nerves of having never used that broom before were also setting in.

I didn't expect as many people to show up to watch tryouts as they did. I spotted the Weasley twins and Carrot Top and, of course, Wood sitting in the stands, and I felt my stomach turn once again ready to vomit.

"She looks a little green." I heard Percy say as I walked by.

"Better be careful Carrot Top, I might get sick right into your lap." I sneered as I walked by. Insulting him managed to lower my nerves a bit as I heard the twins and Oliver's laughter.

There were 9 people trying out for the open chaser position. I stood across from Markus Flint who glowered at me with his creepy face and crooked teeth.

"Scared, Marnie?" he asked. I laughed, quickly glaring at him.

"You wish," I replied. As a whistle blew, we mounted our brooms.

"She's got a new broom look at that. It's a Comet Two Ninety!" I heard Oliver say. I bit my lip, holding a smile back. I glanced over to see Ella and Pippa rushing into the stands.

"We didn't miss anything did we?" Pippa asked.

"You're just in time, Love," Fred replied to her. I watched as her face turned scarlet.

"Ready... set... fly!" a whistle blew and we shot up into the sky. I gasped as my new broom took me faster than any school regulation broom had, almost losing my grip and I was startled. The movements on this broom were crisper, more precise.

"Got it handled there, McGonagall?" Markus jeered as he flew by. I growled some profanities under my breath as the quaffle was tossed into the air.

The play started and each of us played to the respective side we were assigned. I tried to keep my smile in check as I was able to soar past opponents and continuously sail the quaffle through various hoops. Maneuvering around other players came easily and I found myself even showing off a bit, making sure, however, not to take any moves for granted.

Markus and I found ourselves racing for the quaffle a couple of plays later. He was gaining on me as I leaned as far forward as possible without tipping off.

As Markus gained on me I willed myself to speed up, closing my eyes and reaching out for the charmed ball. I felt Markus narrowly slam into me. I gasped at the sudden jerking of my broom as he knocked into me.

"Shove off," I growled, taking a breath, sucking up my fear, and lurching to grab the quaffle. I listened to the time ticking down. I did manage to grab the quaffle but at the cost of my balance. I tipped off the broom, now dangling in the air while my broom haphazardly jerked around in the air. I cried out at the lack of strength I had to keep myself from falling.

"Up," I said to the broom and prayed it would do something. Whether this was me or not, my broom soared upwards just high enough for me to miss Markus coming at me again, hurl the quaffle into a hoop and have the buzzer go off.

The crowd was screaming and cheering. I sucked in and out breaths and I dragged myself back up onto my broom and descended the forty feet. When my feet hit the ground, I was greeted by my friends, cheering and praising me. I smiled weakly, looking at them. They continued to chat and talk with each other while I stepped a little ways away from the crowd, bending over, and emptying the non-existent contents of my stomach.

My breathing was heavy as I came to terms with what I just physically did. I have no idea where it came from or how I managed it but I was freaked out nonetheless.

"You alright there, Marn?" I wiped my mouth and spit into the grass, smirking as I stood up straight.

"Peachy, Wood. I'm peachy." He was smiling.

"Quite the stunt you pulled up there. Very impressive." wood continued.

"It wasn't intentional," Wood laughed, "Or maybe it was. You'll never know." Wood crossed his arms.

"I'd presume you didn't intentionally fall off of your broom just for kicks. Though, it was an interesting display of your skills," he explained.

"You wish you had my skills," I replied. Oliver shrugged.

"Perhaps."

"Correction, maybe you just wish you had the power to utilize my skills." I continued, walking to get water.

"Again, perhaps." I couldn't stand the charm dripping from his voice and his brown eyes constantly boring into mine.

"Wow Mar, that was incredible!" Pippa exclaimed when I got closer.

"Truly, that was pretty wicked," Ella added.

"Yeah, I especially liked the part when you threw up," Percy added in with a taunting face. Smirking, I stepped closer to him and blew my breath into his face.

"Oh Marnie that's disgusting!" he cried out. I fake pouted.

"Oh gee, I'm so sorry Weasel, I figured if you enjoyed it so much you might like to be a part of it." He glared at me, stalking off back towards the castle.

"Why are you the way that you are?" Ella sighed. I smiled devilishly.

"Guess it's just the Slytherin in me," I said, jokingly but in a serious tone.

"Right. So what does that make Pip?" Ella laughed.

"You're too much. Come on. You need to shower, you stink." Pippa said.

"Hey, McGonagall." Wood called. I turned to look at him.

"You did well. I'll see you in class." I nodded, flattening my lips into a tight smile.

"Thanks, Wood. I'll see ya." Pippa giggled as she wrapped her arm around my shoulder.

"I think someone fancies our dear Marnie here. Ella?" She said. Ella's lips curled into an amused smile.

"I would say so, yes," she replies. I shook off the comment, feeling annoyed.

"Please. That's rubbish." I said.

"If you say so, Mar."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this ones a bit longer but i kind of dig it. comment/like/share. word count: 2438


	11. Marnie and the Good News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Part Two of Marnie and the Quidditch Tryouts)

Second Year

I held my breath as I sat on a bench by the window, painstakingly waiting for James, the captain of the team to post the new list.

I had been trying to focus on divination while continuously glancing up every now and then.

"Antsy are we?" I gasped, jumping a little, startled by Wood's voice and sudden presence.

"Jesus. A little warning would be nice." I snapped. His smile never faltered.

"My apologies, Marnie." I shuddered as he said my name and immediately glared.

"Whatever." he sat down next to me.

"Don't sit down-"

"So are you excited about the list?"

"No Wood. I'm just sitting here for kicks," I replied, not looking up from my book.

"Mmm of course. Oh is that the list?" Oliver suddenly said. My head shot up, as did my blood pressure.

"Where?" I looked around, not realizing my hand had landed on his forearm, for balance and out of excitement. I still didn't see anything. I turn to Wood who is just sitting, smiling at me. He glanced down at his arm and I sheepishly pulled my hand away, flustered.

"Why are you even here? You're bothering me," I said, plainly. But this damn boy simply continued to smile, unphased by my blatant attempts to get rid of him.

"Are you always so mean?" he asked, politely. I glared at him.

"Yes. People think I'm joking when I'm really just mean. Deal with it." Oliver leaned closer to me.

"Alright." Alright? Alright like alright, you're mean? Alright like alright I'll deal with it? Alright like, what?

"Alright."

"I believe the list you've been waiting for is out," Oliver said, nudging his head toward the wall. And sure enough, there was, posting the list up on a corkboard. I shot up from the bench, Oliver laughing. I noticed as I hurriedly walked over, Markus Flint was also on his way too, followed by some of the other students who tried out.

"You think you'll cry?" Markus asked. I rolled my eyes at him.

"When I jam my foot up your bum?" I replied. He looked at me, eyes wide. I started to laugh.

"W-when... nevermind." being smaller than most of the group I was immediately shoved to the back. Angrily, I tried to push my way back in.

"Move it, Marnie, you probably didn't make it anyway." a random kid said. I glared at him and then glared straight ahead. One by one the students dispersed, disappointed. I hadn't seen any happy faces yet.

Suddenly, I was being gently pushed up to the front. Whipping my head back, I caught Oliver wink at me as he removed his hand from my back. He stood waiting next to the list.

I took a deep breath and stepped up. I ran my finger down the list before reading Chasers: Ray Silverman and Marnie Willow McGonagall.

Without thinking, I gasped loudly, suddenly cheering joyfully in front of the list. laughed at me with a big smile. I immediately composed myself and clear my throat.

"Thank you, James . I am very excited about this opportunity. I won't let you down." I said.

"I know you won't. We tend to start a couple of weeks before the end of the school year and we do train over the summer with whoever stays, so we'll start in about two weeks. We'll have you fitted for a uniform and I will do a couple of 1 on 1 training to get you accustomed. Every team does this. Welcome to the team, Marnie." he extended his hand. I shook it and he walked away.

I turned to Oliver and without thinking, reacted similarly to when I first found out. His smile was wide as he watched me, more quietly this time, jump around excitedly.

"Congratulations, McGonagall," He said.

"Thank you, Wood. I have to go tell McGonagall," I said quickly. Once again before I could think it through, I placed a peck on Oliver's cheek and ran down the hallway.

When I did realize, I stopped dead in my tracks. Oh my god, I didn't mean to do that. Face burning red, I turned to look at wood. He was smirking at me.

"That was- that meant nothing." I stammered. His face was unchanged.

"Whatever you say, love."

~

"Alright, everyone. We've got a game coming up against Hufflepuff and I want everyone to be at the top of their game. Everything is going pretty good but we cannot rest on that. Good practice. Go shower and get some rest, I'll see you tomorrow." James dismissed us. It was hotter than usual outside and we had gone an hour over our regular two-hour practice.

"Mar, can I speak with you?" He said. I nodded, staying behind.

"Right, so I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay," James said with a gentle smile. I nodded, confused.

"I mean like, just adjusting all right, getting a hang of the game, all that." I nodded again, now understanding.

"Oh, right. Sure thing." I said. James was pretty nice, at least for Slytherin standards. It was refreshing. He was in his sixth year. I had learned about him that his favorite class was Herbology, he liked Pumpkin Pasties and he works at Olivander's in his free time.

More than I had ever hoped to learn about a person. But he was nice and a good captain. Our 1 on 1 lesson had been going well.

"That's good. Now, I want to talk to you about next year." James said.

"Sure." I had been playing on this team for about 3 months now that we've come to the end of the summer (let's pretend the Slytherin kids all stay over the summer lmao this timeline doesn't make any sense oops)

"Next year is my last year. And I know you are new but you've shown an incredible amount of promise and the heads of each house will be appointing captains very soon. I want to appoint you." My mouth fell open at his words.

"No way." I couldn't help but smile. I found myself at a total loss for words as I stood on the field.

"Marnie?" James's voice cut through my haze.

"Oh, sorry. Yes, that would be brilliant! Are you sure you think this is a good idea?" I asked. smiled, comfortingly.

"No doubt in my mind. Just don't tell Flint." He winked. My smile grew wider as my excitement level grew. I didn't notice the Gryffindor team making their way onto the pitch. The Weasley Twins smiled at me waving their beater bats at me. They recently made their team.

"Oi, are you lot just about finished?" Their captain asked.

"Sure, mate, we're all set." Wood caught my eye as he stood with the team. My facial expression shifted into something more "Marnie-like" and he smiled.

"McGonagall." Wood said, smiling as James and I walked by. I rolled my eyes.

"Wood." he just politely smiled, waving as we walked on. I sighed and James laughed.

"What?" I asked. James chuckled again, bumping my shoulder with his.

"I think someone fancies you." I rolled my eyes.

"As if," I replied. I nodded when James held the door for me. I couldn't ignore, however, the speeding up of my heartbeat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part two of marnie and the quidditch tryouts. starting to introduce marnie and oliver! update soon. word count: 1238


	12. Marnie and the Midnight Adventure

I walked quietly down the dark corridor holding a large stack of books in my hands, my wand carefully balancing on top. I was on "duty" returning books to my Great Aunt's office that had been loaned out to students. I nervously chewed at my lip, keeping my head on a swivel at the dark shadows moving through the hall. I have never been overly keen on the dark.

Sure, I planned on returning the books. But who am I to pass up a brilliant opportunity of getting to roam the halls at night. I told Fred and George to meet me by the Slytherin's Secret Bathroom to pull off our latest prank.

What I was not expecting was to run into someone so late at night.

"McGonagall? What are you doing?" I gasped, nearly dropping the books I was holding. I whipped around, ready to throw a rubbish excuse but I relaxed when it was just Wood standing in front of me.

"What am I doing? What are you doing?" I asked, confused as to why he was out of his dorm. His face fell into a smirk.

"I asked you first, genius." My cheeks heated up quickly.

"I'm bringing books back to McGonagall's office," I said, hiding a smile. Wood's lips curled up into a smirk.

"I'm sure you are." He said, popping one of his hips out, judgementally. I scoffed.

"Wood, I am surprised at you. When have you ever known me to be so rebellious and untrustworthy?" I said, faking my hurt and surprise but unable to keep the smile off my face.

"Untrustworthy is something you are certainly not. Rebellious, however. That, dear, is a whole other story. So where are you actually going?" Wood asked. I rolled my eyes.

"I told you, I'm actually going to Minerva's office." Wood nodded.

"Right, then let's go." I sighed, dropping my shoulders.

"Fine." We walked in a comfortable silence until making it to my Aunt's office. I continued to walk by it, only noticing that Wood had stopped when I heard him clear his throat.

"What?" I asked. Wood rolled his eyes, gesturing to McGonagall's office.

"You missed it, genius." I signed, turned myself around, trying to hide my smile.

"You were never going to McGonagall's office were you?" Wood asked. I bit my bottom lip, smiling.

"You are quite observant."

"So, where are you actually going?" Oliver asked. I smiled.

"Ah, that's a surprise," I said, "would you like to join me?" Oliver stood, silent for a minute, contemplating.

"Alright." I smiled as my heartbeat sped up and butterflies exploded in my stomach.

"Grand. Let's go." I placed the books down randomly in front of her office door and we began to walk down the corridor.

"Marn, why are you not wearing shoes?" Wood fought to hide his laughter.

"Oh! My shoes are too loud. Can't sneak around with loud shoes. Percy will find you." The sound of Oliver's laugh was like music to my ears.

"You are strange. Clever. But strange." I smiled at my tights-covered feet.

"Where are we going?" Oliver asked.

"Aren't you worried we'll get caught?"

"Who exactly are we meeting?"

"Are you pranking me? Am I in the wrong place at the wrong time?" I sighed, looking up at him.

"You ask a lot of questions," I said as we got closer to the Slytherin's secret bathroom. It was dark but I watched as Oliver's cheeks tinted pink. As we walked, my heart rate skyrocketed as I felt Oliver's hand gently brush up against mine. I didn't dare to look at him but I had felt comforted with him by myself.

"Ah, here we are," I said, clearing my throat as we reached the secret bathroom.

"We're at a bathroom?" Oliver asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yes. We're meeting someone." I said, looking around.

"Who?"

"Are they also Slytherins?"

"You're sure we won't get in trouble?" I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Wood, you could fill 3 yards of parchment with the number of questions you ask." I groaned. This made him laugh. Yet another strange reaction to my blunt sarcasm.

"I'll get the parchment if you write it down." He replied, examining his shoes.

"Oi." Was all I could manage. I turned around at the sound of footsteps approached and smiled as The Weasley Twins approached.

"That's who you were meeting? We're meeting the Weasley Twins?" Wood questions.

"Well, I was meeting them. Wood, you know the twins. Fred, George, Wood." I said, smiling.

"Ah! Brilliant Marn, you've brought the captain of our quidditch team!" Fred said, swinging his arm around Oliver's shoulders. He laughed.

"Right. Now that everyone's here," I said, let's get started." I said, clapping my hands together.

"What exactly are we doing?" Oliver asked.

"Ignore him. He asks too many questions." I said and Oliver laughed. My cheeks burned and I turned my head around to look at him, smiling, excited that he laughed at my comment. I missed the smirk that had been exchanged between the twins.

"Since you annoyed me so much on the way here, I'm not telling you. But seeing as you're here looking cute," I watched the blush rise to his face, "you can be our look-out."

"Let's go then," George said, smiling devilishly.

"Come on!" I said, excitedly and without thinking, grabbing Oliver's wrist as the Twins started moving quickly down the hall.

Everything had been going smoothly, planting dung bombs across the Defense Against the Dark Art's classroom. A special gift for our favorite professor Quirell. As we left his chamber and snuck back into the shadows of the hall.

What we did not expect was to run into Harry, Ron, and Hermione also in the halls.

"Well, this is unexpected," I said.

"What are you all doing?" I groaned loudly as Percy's voice was suddenly present.

"Fucking brilliant, Carrot Top is here," I said.

"All of you breaking curfew." Percy scoffed, taking out a pad of paper everyone recognized as a prefect's point book. There are also ones for Head Boys and Girls.

"I've got this handled, I'm a Prefect," I said, stepping forward. The Twins dissolved into giggles. It made it difficult to keep my own quickly crumbling resolve.

"You are not a Prefect." Percy fumed.

"Not yet, dear," I said. His face suddenly matched the colour of his hair.

"And what do you mean by that?" His fist was clenched.

"Just you wait," I said, getting closer.

"Perce? Are you okay? Thought I lost you there for a second " My face broke into a ridiculous smile.

"Oh, what do we have here!" I drawled out, stepping closer to Percy. He didn't dare move his eyes from the floor.

"Don't say anything," Percy grumbled. I watched as Auden, the voice who made Percy into a blushing mess, intertwining her hand with Percy's, a smile resting on her face.

"Auden. How are you? Lovely night, isn't it?" I said. Auden has undoubtedly one of the brightest, friendliest smiles you've ever seen.

"Hi, Marnie! Lovely night indeed." She stood about a head shorter than Percy.

"How about this, Percy, take 5 points from Slytherin and 15 points from Gryffindor," Auden said, grabbing her own point book.

"15 from Gryffindor?!" Percy exclaimed.

"Yes, love. Simply because there is a greater volume of Gryffindor's sneaking around." Auden said. I was pleasantly surprised with only having five points taken and enlightened by the fifteen taken from Gryffindor.

"Hah, that's brilliant," I said.

"Shut it, Marnie," Percy growled. Auden squeezed his hand and he took a deep breath.

"If you all leave right now, I won't take any more points and won't tell anyone." Auden bartered. We nodded, splitting off into our separate ways.

"Hey, McGonagall." Wood called. I stopped, looking back at him.

"This was fun. Thanks." He leaned down and placed a kiss on my cheek while I stood there, stunned.

"G-goodnight, Wood." I stammered. He smirked at me and wandered off. The twins stood staring at me with devilish grins.

"Fancy a certain Wood do we?" Fred inquired. My hand found its way to my cheek where Wood had kissed me.

"Oh, absolutely we do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was fun to write. it definitely went differently than i originally planned but i like this better. update soon. word count: 1383


	13. Pippa and the Letters to Ginny

Dear Ginny,

Hello! I hope you've been doing well! I apologize for my long absence, things have been chaos here! Professor Quirrell turned out to be He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Or, he sort of was. It was all very strange but it made for a strange end of the year.

I am beyond excited for you to be starting Hogwarts this year! Are you excited? Don't be nervous about what house you might be placed in, they are all lovely! And besides, I'm sure you're a Gryffindor through and through just like your brothers.

I hope it's been a lovely summer for you, and we'll chat soon!

Best,

Pippa

I finished my letter, addressing it and sending Neptune off with it to Devon, England where the Burrow is.

"Have you actually met her?" Ella asked, picking at her nails. I shook my head.

"I have not. But we've been writing to each other since my first year." I replied. Ella's eyes widened.

"Wow, impressive." She said.

"She's lovely, you should speak with her sometime," I suggested. Ella shrugged.

"Perhaps. I don't know her well." Ella mused. I shrugged as the Gryffindor portrait door swung open.

"Hah! I told you!" Marnie's voice was ringing loud and clear.

"How?! A fourth-year Prefect? That's unheard of! And you're not even a fourth year yet!" Percy exclaimed as the two stepped through the portrait hole. Marnie was waving a letter in his face, jumping around him in circles. Some members of the quidditch team were trailing behind.

"Guess I'm just different and better than you." Marnie teased. We watched as Percy's face reddened.

"Sure, you're different alright."

"Whatcha got there, Marn?" I asked. She popped over to us, smiling with a letter.

"I'm going to be a Prefect next year." Ella's mouth dropped open.

"You're joking." Marnie laughed.

"You wish." She replied. I took the letter from her.

"No offense, Marn, but who did this? Who in their right mind would give you this much power." I said, reading over the letter.

"James, that's who. Man bloody trusts me with everything. Quidditch captain, prefect. He's bloody brilliant, shame to see him go." Marnie sighed. I laughed.

"James' judgment must be skewed," Percy muttered.

~

"In fourth place, Gryffindor with 312 points. In third, Hufflepuff with 352 points. In second place, Ravenclaw with 426 points. And in first place with 472 points, Slytherin house!" Marnie and I clapped and cheered. Nothing could wipe the smile off my face at the moment. Marnie was making faces over to the Gryffindor table, specifically at Percy and Ella. They clapped politely. I smiled over at Draco who excitedly returned it.

"Yes, yes well done Slytherin, however," Dumbledore started.

"No no, come on," Marnie muttered.

"Recent events must be taken into account. And I have a few last-minute points to award. To Miss Hermione Granger, the cool use of intellect while others were in grave peril, 50 points." Marnie rolled her eyes and I laughed lightly.

"Second, to Mr. Ronald Wealsey, for the best-played game of chess that Hogwarts has seen these many years, 50 points." Marnie put her head in her hands, groaning.

"50 points for playing a bloody chess game, you've got to be joking." Markus and I laughed as he patted her shoulder.

"And third, to Mr. Harry Potter for pure love and outstanding courage. I award Gryffindor House, 60 points." Now we were tied with Gryffindor.

"And finally, it takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies but a great deal more to stand up to your friends. I award 10 points to Neville Longbottom." Dumbledore finished. Marnie groaned again.

"Ahhh, Neville!" She grumbled.

"Assuming that my calculations are correct, I believe that a change of decoration is in order." Dumbledore clapped his hands and the Slytherin's watched as the banners changed from green to red.

"Gryffindor wins the house cup!" They all stood, clapping, and cheering.

"Bloody rubbish!" Marnie exclaimed. I laughed out loud at her outburst.

~

"For chess! For bloody chess! You're joking!" Marnie continued to follow Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore around the corridor, pulling me along with her.

"We never win! They always win!" She cried out. The two adults just continued chatting and walking while Marnie aired her grievances.

"Minvera, honestly do you even like us?" Marnie said. McGonagall turned around, smiling.

"Of course we do, dear. This is just how it panned out." She said in a calm tone. Marnie rolled her eyes.

"Absolutely rubbish." Marnie crossed her arms.

"Ms. Malfoy, any grievances?" Professor Dumbledore asked with a smile. I returned the smile.

"Not at the moment sir, just making sure Marnie doesn't blow a fuse," I said. Marnie glared at me.

"Well hello, ladies." My face flushed as Fred and George's voices popped up behind us.

"Ah, wonderful, Mr. and Mr. Weasley, would you kindly take Ms. Malfoy and Ms. McGonagall and occupy them, elsewhere? Ah! Wood! Perfect, you join them." I watched Marnie's face flush with colour as Wood smiled, walking over.

"Rubbish," Marnie muttered.

"Oh come on, you odd bunch, they're throwing a bit of a part in the common room," Fred said, putting his arm around my shoulders.

"Ella already there?" I asked.

"Yup, she and Angelina are setting up." I pulled Marnie's arm.

"Come on. Nothing some pumpkin juice and butterbeer can't fix." I said. She rolled her eyes but her mood visibly changed as she fell into a conversation with Wood. I smiled up at Fred, whose arm was still around me.

"She's quite taken with him," I said. Fred nodded.

"Oh yeah, you should've seen then a couple of weeks ago when we were dropping dung bombs in Quirrell's office. I mean, she gets excited to do pranks, but she was like a different person." Fred explained as we wandered back to the common room.

When we arrived, Angelina high-fived Ella with a smile.

"Wow! Looks great, ladies." Fred said while we entered the newly decorated room.

"Oh great, you've brought Slytherins into our party." Ella teased, greeting me.

"Very funny, El. Come up with that yourself?" I fired back. Angelina joined Ella.

"Where's Marnie?" Angelina asked. I pointed my head over to Marnie and Wood, standing in a corner of the room, laughing and talking. She was leaned up against the wall while Oliver stood towering over her.

"Oh my gosh, they're so cute," Angelina said, smiling.

"Oh, I know right. They'll get together soon enough." Ella said, bumping my shoulder. I smiled, nodding in agreement.

"Oh! Ella, Ang, do you mind if I borrow some parchment from your dorm? Ginny wrote back, I want to send a reply before we go home." I said. Both girls nodded and I excused myself. Climbing the stairs to the 3rd-floor dorms, I easily found Ella and Angelina's decorated door and pushed it open.

I pulled Ginny's most recent letter out of my pocket.

Pippa,

That's wicked! I hope everyone's alright! Maybe you could come to visit over the summer. I think Mum would love to meet you. I'm quite excited about school this fall as well. I'm hoping for Gryffindor but I'm sure any house is just as good. How is everything with you and Fred? Confessed your love for him yet? I guarantee he would say he feels the same, you should hear the way he speaks of you at home! Oh! Perhaps I will see you in Diagon Alley before school starts!

Love,

Ginny

I smiled at the letter, rolling my eyes at her comments on Fred. I fetched some of Ella's parchment, a quill, and a pot of ink, quickly replying.

Gin,

You will never believe this!! Slytherin was scheduled to win the house cup, we had come in first, and then out of the blue Gryffindor was awarded all these extra points and suddenly landed themselves in the first place! Marnie was absolutely crushed and of course, Ella was thrilled. Markus and I did our best to console Marnie, but not to worry, a good friend of her's is doing quite a good job of it now. As for me and Fred, no. I have not confessed any undying love for him and I will not be doing so as I would just die of embarrassment. All good things he is speaking of me, I hope. And I would love to see you in Diagon Alley, I will make sure to set a place to meet with Fred and be sure he brings you along! Have a wonderful summer and please continue to write if you wish!

Best,

Pippa

P.S. I am in Ella and Angelina's room, so you won't be greeted by Neptune but rather by Artemis, Ella's unnecessarily large owl.

"Hi, Harold. Want to send a letter?" I asked, unhooking the latch on his cage and securing my letter to him. I handed Harold some treats and sent him on his way. Turning off the lights and closing the door behind me, I skipped back down the stairs to the common room.

"There you are!" I gasped, startled by the sudden presence of the Twins. Or, one of the twins.

"Hello," I said, studying his face, desperately trying to find any indication of a difference. Between their personalities, I am secure on which twin is which but physically, I am still working on it. Hell, even Marnie doesn't know.

"It's Fred you git," Ella whispered as she walked past me. A hot blush coated my cheeks as I tightly smiled at her.

"Thanks for the parchment," I muttered. I turned my eyes back to Fred.

"Parchment?" He asked.

"Returning a letter to Ginny," I said. Fred nodded.

"You write to her more than you write to me." Fred pouted and my heart nearly burst out of my chest. I laughed, anxiously.

"Well- well, that's just because... well, I-"

"Pipsqueak, I'm just messing with you." My face grew hotter. Fred had taken to calling me one of two things, Wondergirl, like he did when I first went through the Platform, or Pipsqueak because I am short. Well, short comparatively, the twins are suddenly heading towards being taller than everyone.

"Right." I laughed out.

"We should write more, however. I miss you over the summers." I smiled warmly at Fred.

"I miss you too, Freddie," I replied, genuinely. My house is forever gloomy and dark and echoey. I've heard the Burrow is just lovely and bright and warm.

"What is your address, by the way?" My palms began to sweat as Fred asked such a simple question, yet I was left with no answer. I had gone about telling him I was Draco's distant cousin and of course I knew (and Marnie knew) that this would eventually backfire. And that time had come.

"M-my address?" Fred laughed, leaning against the wall.

"Well, you've got to live somewhere right?" I laughed as he did.

"Right, well, here goes nothing," I muttered, "I live in Wiltshire. In the Malfoy Manor." I watched Fred's face pale.

"I stay there, over the summers! My parents don't like me to stay alone for too long!" I said, lying through my teeth.

"I don't live there, I-I just visit. Dreadful visits, really." I said, laughing tensely. Fred's face mildly regained colour and I tried my best to smile, comfortingly.

"I'm not sure it would be the best idea to send a letter from me to the Malfoy Manor," Fred said, quietly. My smile dropped and Fred seemed to notice.

"I have my own owl. The Malfoy's won't even know. Of course, I don't want you to feel uncomfortable at all, if you don't wish to, please don't be stressed about it!" I said. I watched Fred's face relax a bit. I put my hand on his arm, smiling.

"And besides, your sister sends me letters all the time." I smiled, biting my bottom lip, hoping this would change his mind. Fred rolled his eyes, smiling.

"Right, well. If my baby sister is sending you letters, then get ready to see Eroll all the time." I smiled, dropping my hand to hold his, playing with his fingers, mindlessly.

"And you will see Neptune," I replied. Fred's smile nearly knocked me out.

"I hope you have a wonderful summer, Pipsqueak. Sorry about the Slytherin loss." Fred leaned down and placed a kiss on my forehead. I had been rendered speechless and I saw the smirk travel onto his face.

"Until next year."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didn't really have any ideas about this one and the plot changed slightly from the original title but its all good cause i think its cute. update soon, word count: 2050


	14. Marnie and the Gryffindor Interference

Third Year

"Flint! Are you ready to go?" I called up the boy's corridor stairwell.

"I'm coming, I'm coming, McGonagall. Don't get your knickers in a twist." He said as he hopped down the stairs.

"My knickers are none of your business." I joked, hitting his arm.

"Right, right. They're Wood's business." Flint tossed back as we left the common room. My mouth hung open. I watched as Pippa's head flew up from her homework in surprise.

Absolutely not. They are not." We walked quickly, already running late.

"Why in Merlin's name are you walking so fast?" Markus asked.

"We're running late. Very late." I replied, pulling his arm.

"James doesn't care. You're the heir to be captain anyway." It had suddenly hit me that James wasn't going to be at practice today and it was my responsibility as next-in-line to run it.

"Salazar! I'm supposed to be running practice today! Flint, let's go!" I cried out. Markus laughed as I started running. We get to the pitch, now nearly twenty minutes late.

"Well done Captain. That's twenty minutes." Adrian Pucey laughed. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, I'm here now. Let's start practice, yeah?" I said, out of breath.

"Slight problem, Cap." Miles Bletchley, our keeper said, holding laughter back.

"What why-"

"Morning McGonagall." A sultry Scottish voice interrupted me. I dropped my head, sighing.

"Of course." I pinched the bridge of my nose, taking a deep breath in.

"Wood," I said, looking at him. He had an adjusted team now: The twins were still beaters but there was a new chaser, along with Angelina and Alicia. Wood was now captain but still the keeper and who was the new seeker... wait.

"Is that," I started, "Harry Potter? That's Harry Potter. That's a first-year." I said, pointing. Markus hit my arm.

"We are working on not being rude, yeah?" He mumbled in my ear.

"Right. Sorry. So, looks like you've scored yourself a new Seeker. That's brilliant." I said with the same tone. Wood chuckled.

"We have. This is Harry. He's new to our team." I nodded, taking inventory.

"Mhmm. Right well. If you don't mind, we are practicing." I said, turning around.

"Not so fast, McGonagall. You were late." Wood said, putting his hand on my shoulder. I failed to stop the blush creeping up my neck at the contact.

"And? James booked the pitch for an hour. We still have time left." I grumbled,

"Ah, yes. But you failed to show up on time, leaving the pitch open." It was clear to both my team and Wood's that my patience was quickly plummeting and I might lose my head any moment. Wood seemed to pick up on it too,

"You know what. You're right Marnie. I apologize for infringing on your practice time. I clearly didn't realize your punctuality or serious lack thereof was going to affect everyone in such a way. You can have the pitch." My mouth hung open as Wood and his team stalked off to Merlin knows where.

"Is he bloody serious?" I said louder than intended. Markus chuckled.

"Hi team!" my head dropped again at James' voice suddenly being present.

"You've got to be bloody kidding. Can NOTHING go right today?!" I yelled. James looked at Markus, concerned.

"Just been a bit of an off day. She's fine." He said, patting my shoulder. I glanced over to where Wood's team was hanging out. Wood, as if knowing, turned to me and winked. My anger grew again as my face burned crimson.

"I hate that kid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had a lot of fun with this one. update soon. word count: 607


	15. Pippa and the Weasley Encounter

First Year

"You should meet the Weasley Twins. I'm going to the Gryffindor Common room if you want to come." Marnie said, hopping off of her bed.

"Oh, sure," I replied, following my roommate out of our dorm and down the stairs.

"How are we going to get into the common room? Ella?" I asked.

"I know the password," Marnie said as we exited the Slytherin Common Room. I furrowed my eyebrows together.

"You do?" She nodded as we headed to Gryffindor Tower.

"Yes. I know the passwords to every house." I chuckled as we reached the tower.

"Marnie, dear!" The Fat Lady portrait exclaimed. Marnie smiled.

"Hello, Miss." She replied.

"Password, please?"

"Balderdash," Marnie said. The portrait smiled, gently, allowing us into the room.

"Hello!" Marnie called and I laughed at her interesting entrance.

"Ah, hello Marnie." Fred and George said from sitting on the couch.

"Must you always be so loud?" Mavis, Marnie's older brother asked. He and Charlie Wealsey sat together.

"Absolutely. Anyhow. I'm not sure if you've met my lovely roommate, so here she is. This is Pippa Malfoy." My blood ran cold as Marnie said Malfoy and I watched the Weasley's faces sour.

"Malfoy huh?" Charlie said. I panicked and tried to think quickly.

"Cousin. He's my very distant cousin. I've actually never met him!" I spit out. Marnie glanced over to me with a look as to say "are you serious?" I nodded.

"Alright then," Marnie muttered.

"Oh, interesting." Fred had regained his smile and I felt myself relax a bit. Sure. I'll be Pippa Malfoy. Draco's distant cousin.

~

4th year

"Phillipa, we need to hurry before the alley gets too crowded," Narcissa called to me from the bottom of the stairs. I rolled my eyes.

"Why do I need to go? You made me go all by myself for the last two years!" I called back.

"Get down here, now!" Lucious suddenly yelled. I groaned, keeping my attitude in check.

I angrily made my way down the strange grand staircase to see Lucious, Narcissa, and Draco standing by the front door, cloaked and ready to leave.

"Here." Narcissa handed me my own cloak and I sighed, taking it from her.

"We're off."

~

Lucious suspiciously ventured off to Knockturn Alley but I sincerely couldn't find the means to care. He said he would meet us in Flourish and Blotts. I had begun to be on edge as we were beginning to see people from Hogwarts. The absolute last thing I wanted was to run into anyone, specifically my own friends with the Malfoy's so close by.

When we got inside, it was packed, the star of the show being Gilderoy Lockhart. A ridiculous wizard author who's got his head so far up his own arse he can't see straight.

I ignored him, wandered around the book shop, excited to pick out new books. I was taking a second year of Divination with Ella. Marnie got frustrated with it and decided to layer another year of Potions.

I gathered the books I needed for my classes and placed them in my cauldron. I began to look for any more books that might be of interest.

"Pip, where do I find the Defense Against the Dark Arts second-year books?" I whipped around, panicked as Draco popped up behind me.

"They're right over there, by that idiot Lockhart." I sighed. It was announced that he would be our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and nothing makes my skin crawl more.

It would be like, for Marnie, Professor Quirell teaching positions.

"Oh, thanks." I nodded and he made his way over. I turned my attention back to the bookshelf when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Wondergirl!" My face flushed and I froze in place.

"Freddie! Hello!" I said, trying to hide my unease. His brown eyes were bright as he smiled down at me.

"What was Malfoy doing over here?" He asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Oh, he just asked where the Defense Against The Dark textbooks are. He knows me from volunteering in that class last year." The lie rolled off my tongue easily but my flushed red face probably gave me away.

"Oh, alright! Did you have a nice summer? Sure missed you. Letters just aren't quite the same." I smiled, ignoring the quickening of my heartbeat.

"It is alright. Just-"

"Phillipa, we're leaving. Now." Once again, my whole body ran hot and I stood frozen in place as Lucious's voice bellowed.

"Oh, my Salazar," I whispered, unable to move. I looked up at Fred. His expression read confusion and a tint of hurt.

"I can explain-" I flinched when Lucious grabbed at my arm, pulling me away.

"Talking to that blood traitor. Who do you think you are?" He sneered.

"Not a Malfoy," I muttered as Lucious yanked harder. I looked back at Fred who still stood there. My eyes pleaded with him to not be upset but his expression was unreadable. My mind was elsewhere as Lucious ran into Arthur Weasley and the two began to argue. I was disgusted with Draco and Lucious as they simply degraded the family. Blinded by my own rage, I walked by Lucious, snatching his pouch of galleons whilst he was distracted, and went back to where I had been standing.

A young redhead girl who I could only assume was Ginny Weasley, the girl with whom I had been writing letters back and forth, stood, nervously beside her family. I walked to her, quietly grabbing her attention.

"Hello, Ginny?" I asked. She looked up at me.

"Yes?" Her voice was small.

"I'm Pippa." By telling her my name, I watched as the young girl's face light up.

"You're Pippa?" She asked. I smiled, unable to hide my own joy.

"I am, indeed. Listen, I'd like to do something, could I have your cauldron and books?" I asked. Ginny nodded, suspiciously handing them over.

"I'll be just a moment." I noticed I had caught Mrs. Weasley's eye but I had already walked over to the counter.

"Find everything alright today, Miss?" The young lady behind the counter asked.

"Yes, thank you." I had placed the cauldron and books up to be checked out.

"Right, this will be 15 galleons and 3 sickles." I reached into Lucious's stash and pulled out the amount she requested. I winced as the altercation grew louder.

"You are all set, Dear. Have a lovely day." She said, smiling.

"You as well." I tried my best to blend in, pushing up my glasses as I wandered back over to Ginny.

"Here you are, dear. I have to go, but I'll see you at Hogwarts, yeah? I'm almost done with my response to your letter, so you'll see Neptune soon." I said, quietly. Ginny had a big smile on her face.

"You didn't have to do that." She whispered. Lucious and Arthur's altercation had started to come to an end as Lucious grabbed Draco's hand and looked around for me.

"You have nothing to worry about." Red-faced, I stood up and followed Lucious out of the door, hanging my head.

~

"Pippa, you have to tell them sooner or later," Ella said, laying across a couch in the Gryffindor Common Room. I had been pacing around the room, previously having begged to avoid this Common Room at all costs.

It had been an hour since our arrival back at Hogwarts and The Great Feast had ended a few minutes ago. I had promptly been avoiding

"I can't tell them! They'll hate me! Oh my, Salazar, and what if Mrs. Weasley finds out I purchased her daughter's books! " I said, my voice was higher pitched than I would've liked. Marnie laughed.

"I told you lying to them was a terrible idea." She was also laying on a couch but upsidedown with her feet hanging off the back of the cushion.

"You are not helping," I stressed, pulling at my dark hair.

"I know. I'm sorry." Marnie said before blowing her bangs out of her face. She continued to fiddle with her Prefect pin. I exhaled slowly.

"No, Marn, I'm sorry, I'm just-"

"You're freaking out. It's okay." Marnie replied, picking at her upper lip.

"What do I say? Communication is important, I know I need to speak with them." I said, running my hands over my face.

"Just breathe, to start," Ella said.

"All you have to do is just tell the truth. This happened two weeks ago, who knows if they even remember." Marnie mused. I inhaled sharply as the portrait door swung open. The twins entered, glancing towards me, looking uneasy. Marnie smiled at Oliver and glared at Percy as they entered. I smiled tightly as Oliver leaned down to kiss Marnie while she still laid upsidedown.

"Hello." He said, brushing some hair out of her face. My stomach tied itself in knots. Merlin, they are a nice couple. I watched as the Twins' expressions change as a very excited first-year Ginny came bounding into the common room, towards me.

"Pippa!" She wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug and I relaxed a bit.

"Hello, Gin! It's great to see you." I said, smiling.

"You too. I got your letter, thank you." My nerves returned as I glanced back at Fred. George was busy bothering Ella. I was unsure if Fred had said anything, I wanted so very much for him to not be upset with me.

"Pippa, why don't you-" Marnie started.

"Fred!" He whipped his head around, looking concerned, as I over-zealously called his name, "sorry, Fred. Could I please speak to you? Privately." I asked, wringing my fingers out. He nodded and I followed him up the stairs to his dorm.

"Is everything alright, Pip?" He asked, closing the door behind him. I didn't look him in the eye and continued to stare at the floor while I shook my head.

"Are you hurt?" He asked. I shook my head.

"Please look at me," Fred asked, lifting my chin with his index finger to meet his lovely brown eyes. I took a deep breath.

"At Flourish and Blotts..." I started. Fred's eyes softened.

"Phillipa," I was shaken by the use of my full name, "no matter who you are or what your name is, I still love you." My body flushed at his words, even knowing he didn't mean it in the same way I did, he still said it and I was sure nothing would make the smile fade off of my face.

"I'm sorry I lied," I whispered. Fred pulled me towards him, hugging me tightly.

"I understand why you lied." He replied. I inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of cinnamon and warm vanilla and traces of what could be fireworks.

"They adopted me when I was 4," I continued, pushing my glasses up, "I know they don't like the Weasley's and I could risk losing your friendship," I explained, glancing up at Fred. He was smiling.

"You can't get rid of us that easily, Pipsqueak." I laughed.

"Why don't we tell George and Ron then? I believe Ginny knows." My face burned.

"Erm, is your mum- did she know-"

"About you purchasing Ginny's books? Howler's already on its way." Fred said, laughing as I buried my head in his chest, groaning.

~

"I've never gotten a howler," I said, stabbing at my French Toast. Marnie was picking at her toast while Markus read the quidditch plan for their upcoming match in a few weeks to her.

"I haven't either if that helps," Marnie said, "you don't have to open it here. You can't wait to open it but you could take it to a quieter place as soon as you want to read it. Just remember, the longer it goes unopened, the hotter it will get until it just explodes." Marnie warned.

My stomach twisted in knots as a red envelope was dropped on my plate in front of me, followed by a regular letter.

"Oh, Merlin," I muttered, feeling the pressure in my face rise as I willed myself to keep any tears back.

"You've got this," Marnie said. I stood, shakily from the table, and slowly walked out of the Great Hall. I took deep breaths, reminding myself that this was a boundary line I crossed, uninvited, and needed to face the consequences. You meant well, Pippa, but there are some sensitive lines you really shouldn't cross. I found an empty broom cupboard and looked around the hall curiously, making sure no one spotted me as I ducked in.

Taking a deep breath, I ripped open the envelope.

"PHILLIPA MALFOY,

WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN? PURCHASING MY DAUGHTER'S BOOKS AS THOUGH WE ARE INCAPABLE OF DOING SO OURSELVES? WE ARE PERFECTLY FINE WITHOUT ANY SUCH HELP FROM YOU, ESPECIALLY AFTER THAT STUNT, LUCIOUS PULLED IN FLOURISH AND BLOTTS."

I hadn't even noticed I was crying by the time I got to the end of the howler and it shriveled up in front of me. I opened the second letter that followed.

"Now, having gotten that out of the way, I have taken some time to collect my thoughts. I understand what you did was with good intention and I do thank you for it, but for the future, do be mindful of favours involving money, as money can be a sensitive matter. It is my understanding that you used Lucious's money without his knowledge under what my children describe as a "blind rage." Now, you seem like a very sweet girl from all the lovely things Fred and Ginny have shared about you, and from this, I can see you are not one to hold such a matter over one's head. Thank you for your generosity but it will not be needed again. If the Weasleys are anything, it is proud of who we are, and I'm sure you understand that. It is also my understanding that you are not close with your family and do not associate yourself with them? Though it is not my business, is this so? Perhaps not all Malfoy's are alike. Anyhow. I trust my children's judgment of you and if you wish to further improve your reputation in my eyes, perhaps you'd like to send your own letter back. I'd like to know more about this girl our Freddie is so taken with.

Take care,

Molly Weasley."

I was hiccupping and now ugly crying by the end of this letter. As I sat in the dark and dank broom cupboard, I tried to calm my breathing. My heart rate skyrocketed as someone knocked on the door. I frantically wiped at my face from under my glasses, sniffing in.

"Pippa?" I relaxed a little at Cedric's voice. I sheepishly opened the door.

"Hello there." He said with a smile. I wiped at my nose and eyes more as he pulled my arm.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, still crying softly. Cedric smiled.

"Someone told me my favourite Slytherin was upset." He replied, linking his arm through mine as we walked. I began to cry again.

"Are you crying over a letter right now?" Cedric asked, laughing. I had let out a mixture of a sob and a laugh.

"I'm not good with authority figures!" I exclaimed, laughing and crying.

"You are a mess, Merlin. Come on." Cedric said, pulling my arm.

"Where are we going?" I asked, following.

"Prefect's bathroom." Cedric and Marnie had both taken it upon themselves to remind Percy that they were both now Prefects.

"Wow, I feel special," I said, laughing. Cedric rolled his eyes, smiling. He gave the password while holding my ears for me to not hear. I laughed at this, as I wouldn't be going in anyway. My eyes wandered around the pristine, marble bathroom.

"Wow," I said, "this is wicked! Now I want to be a Prefect." I said. Cedric laughed as he told me to sit on the counter next to the sink.

"Just for the restroom?" He confirmed. I pushed up my glasses, nodding.

"Here," Cedric said, handing me toilet paper. He turned away from me as I blew my nose and tossed it out. After washing my hands, Cedric flicked water at my face, making me laugh.

"Wanna tell me why you were in a broom cupboard crying?" Cedric asked, joining me on the counter. I sighed, pulling at my fingers.

"I did something without really thinking about it," I said, sheepishly. Cedric smiled.

"Don't worry, we've all been there. Want to tell me about it?" He asked. I nodded.

"Before school started, Lucious dragged the whole family to Diagon Alley even though he made me go by myself for my first three years!" I said, getting exasperated. Cedric bumped my shoulder.

"Oh, I remember." I smiled back at him, recalling the first time I met him and his father.

"I had been avoiding the Malfoy's and trying not to be seen with them, which wasn't difficult seeing as I don't resemble them with the platinum blonde hair and all. However, Draco had come over to ask me where the new Defense Against the Dark Arts books are so I told him quickly, but Fred had come up behind me and I didn't realize. He asked why Draco was talking to me so I made up a quick lie-" Cedric looked at me knowingly, "I know! I know, lying is bad but I didn't want him to be upset that I had lied the first time..." I trailed off, realizing how bad I have woven this situation.

"Quite the mess I've made, huh," I mused, "Lucious pulled my arm to get me to follow him when Fred had been right in front of me. You should've seen his face he looked crushed! I never want to see him look like that ever, especially if I caused it." I said, getting jumpy.

"Tell me it doesn't get worse." Cedric groaned. I leaned my head against his shoulder.

"Ced?"

"Yeah, Pip."

"It gets worse." Cedric groaned in a loud, dramatic fashion, making both of us laugh.

"Alright, what happened next?" He asked. I took a breath.

"Lucious and Arthur started arguing and I was just so angry with Lucious that I wasn't thinking and I snatched his little pouch of money that he keeps and I introduced myself to Ginny. We have been sending letters for quite some time now and I took her cauldron and books from her and purchased them for her." I said, rushed. I felt my face go red just thinking about it and airing it to Cedric.

"Money can be a very touchy thing, Pip," Cedric said.

"I know! I know, I stepped over a line I shouldn't have. I plan on writing Mrs. Weasley, I want to apologize." I said. Cedric nodded.

"I think that's a good idea. It was a heat-of-the-moment type of thing and you have recognized that you did overstep and I can clearly see that you feel guilty about it. You're a good person, you just made a bad choice under the adrenaline of anger." Cedric explained. I looked up at him, smiling.

"What?"

"You're very wise, ya know. Are you sure you're not supposed to be in Ravenclaw?" Cedric rolled his eyes, smiling."

"Quite sure. Come on, let's go write that letter."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello i would just like to recognize first hand that marnie and oliver's timeline is slightly off and to just ignore it, it will be solved in a couple of chapters but for the storyline's sake, its slightly off and that's fine I'm just going with it! I would also like to say i am 100% writing this instead of doing an essay for school lmao. update soon. word count: 3284


	16. Ella and the Prank War

2nd Year

"Hogwart's has a newspaper?" Marnie asked, crunching down on an apple. Her feet were perched on the coffee table in the Gryffindor common room.

"Yes, Marn. And I've decided to write for it." I replied. Pippa smiled, enthusiastically.

"Well, I think that's wonderful, El!" She said.

"Oh, talking about me again we are ladies?" I instinctively felt my shoulders tense as the voice of one George Weasley rang in my ear.

"Funny Weasel, I don't remember mentioning you," I said, looking at my nails. He laughed, lightly tugging on a stray curl. I whipped my head around, threateningly. He just smirked.

"Ella is going to be writing for the Hogwarts paper if there's even such thing in existence," Marnie said, dramatically.

George sat down next to her on the couch, intrigued.

"Well, well. That is wonderful, Peaches-"

"Don't call me that-"

"I do believe there is paper. Yes, I remember someone borrowing it to line the cage of their pet rat." I rolled my eyes groaning.

"Don't you have to be a delinquent somewhere?" I asked. George just sat back and smiled.

"Nope." He replied popping the p. "Not on the agenda for today." I crossed my arms.

"Well, don't fret too much. I'm sure your town is helplessly lost without its idiot." George laughed out loud, almost genuinely.

"And I'm sure that piece of coal up your arse is just about ready to be a diamond." I glared harder at him if that was even possible.

"Ah. Perfect. She's just about boiling, ready to be served with biscuits. I'm off!" George said, standing quickly and ruffling Marnie's hair.

"Oh, and Pip. Fred told me to tell you he liked your hair today." Marnie and George snickered at Pippa's face morphing into a dark shade of red.

"I hope he falls into the Black Lake," I muttered.

~

3rd Year-

"El, where did you want this?" Marnie asked.

"Just hang it there, quickly. Classes are almost done." I replied, curtly. Marnie made a sarcastic face.

"How you doin' down there, Pip?" Marnie called. She stood, nervously, with her arms crossed. We made her the lookout.

"Fine. But if I get detention, I'm going to be upset." She replied, pushing her glasses up.

"And you can blame us all you want, but what's important right now, it's hurrying up and taking our spot to watch!" I grumbled, tying a knot while Marnie held the bucket.

"You are scary when you do pranks." She muttered. I chuckled. I pulled my wand out and charmed the pail to hold itself in the air, with the help of the robe. Satisfied, I slide down the ladder and Marnie followed suit.

"Don't you think we're a bit suspicious with a giant ladder next to us?" She jokes. I pointed my wand at it, making it disappear.

"Never mind then," Marnie said, "let's go hide." I pulled Pippa's arm and we ran to hide behind a large stone pillar near the classroom. Marnie clutched onto the prized Maurader's Map she and the twins had stolen two years ago, patiently waiting. Pippa anxiously picked at her lip and tried to act as though she had nothing to do with it. Students began to flood the halls and exit the chambers. I stared at the map waiting for George Weasley to pop up, holding my wand at the ready.

Finally, Fred, Lee Jordan, and George were the last ones to exit the chamber. As George walked out, I pointed my wand at the pail, making it tip over and covering George with a slimy green paste of Marnie's concoction.

Marnie and I stood up rapidly, cheering as our plan had been successful. George groaned, looking over at us.

"You." He growled. I skipped over to him, hands folded behind my back, smiling, innocently.

"Me," I replied. Fred and Lee were unable to contain their laughter as Marnie skipped up behind me.

"McGonagall, you are a traitor." He said, wiping the slime off of his face.

"What can I say, I'm a bit unpredictable." I held up my hand and Marnie high-fived me with a wide smile.

"What's all this?" I turned my head to see the youngest Weasley brother talking to Fred.

"Oh, Ella got George good," Fred explained. "He turned her hair into snakes last week and she obviously retaliated."

"I would say that is, as of right now, Quincy 1, Weasley 0," I said, crossing my arms.

"Oh just you wait, Quincy. You're going to majorly regret that."

~

4th year

"She isn't that bad." I defended as Marnie, Pippa, and I headed to class.

"She's completely bloody looney!" Marnie countered. Pippa quietly pushed her glasses up, not really contributing.

"You just don't like her because you don't like Divination," I said. Marnie rolled her eyes.

"Yes? Yeah, that's exactly it." I scoffed, laughing. We arrived a tad bit early to Professor Fairfax's Muggle Studies classroom and my friends trailed behind me. I pulled the door open but was immediately hit with a sticky, wet, green liquid. I gasped as my friends did.

"Oh, Merlin." Pippa breathed. I stood frozen, unsure of what to do as I processed what just happened.

"Brilliant." I rolled my eyes, hearing my two least favourite people on the face of the planet from behind me. I turned to look at them.

"Weasley," I grumbled. I inhaled and immediately gagged at the horrendous smell that accompanied the green goo covering me. The Twins stood smiling and laughing.

"Gotcha Quincy." They said. I had no words as the students filing into the classroom around me, avoided me, pinching their noses.

"Yes, thank you, Weasel, I see that." George had been quietly smiling at me. "Very mature," I growled, internally groaning at my robes. This was one of four sets I have, ticking off the last one that isn't dyed a colour other than what it is supposed to be. Frustration and sadness grew as I calculated what I was going to do.

"Rich coming from someone covered in smelly green goop." George mused. I smiled sickly at him, walking up to him. Without taking another thought, I scooped some goo from my hair and robes and smushed it into his hair, and rubbed my arms and shoulders onto his clean robes.

I stood back, crossing my eyes.

"Rich coming from someone now in the exact same position," I replied. I angrily picked up my bag and stormed down the corridor to Madam Pomfrey's. Anger was blindly coursing through my veins as I waltzed into the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey turned to me, most likely at the horrid smell, with wide eyes.

"Oh, my dear. George again?" She said, sympathetically. I nodded, throwing my bag down.

"How did you know?" I offered back, sitting down. Madam Pomfrey did her best to keep a neutral face as she made an assessment.

"Well, it doesn't look like it's physically hurting you in any way, so that's all well and good." She said. I sighed.

"Do you happen to have the other pair of robes that were dyed the other week?" I asked meekly. She smiled softly.

"Yes, I do. The only thing is that the spell I had to use was a bit funny." Pomfrey disappeared for a minute. I wrung my fingers out, nervously. I can't ask for another pair of robes from my parents. I already did that last year. Madam Pomfrey returned with my robes, holding her nose.

"Oh, Merlin," I said. She looked sympathetically at me.

"What's happened to them?" I asked, slowly losing my cool.

"As I said, the spell I had to use was a bit funny. You just have to wash them by hand once or twice to get the smell out. And here," she waved her wand, mutter a spell, and my hair and face were no longer covered in green goo, "just go change, and bring these robes back, I'll spell them." I nodded, smilingly tightly.

"Thank you, Ma'am," I said, taking the robes and holding them away from me. I dragged myself off to my dorm.

"Stupid Weasley, stupid green goo, stupid smell, stupid Weasley," I grumbled, changing into regular clothes and balling up my robes, and rushing off to the washrooms to clean my robes. Not many students go down to the washrooms but I had begun to make a habit of it as the Twins began antagonizing me.

I carefully slipped into the room, shutting it behind me. I got to work filling two bins with water, one with soap and one without. I hummed along to a muggle song I heard a while back as I soaked my robes in the bin with soap. As I hummed and paid mind to my robes, I didn't see or hear the chamber door open.

A tall wave of red hair caught my eye and my heart rate skyrocketed.

"Please don't," I said, "seriously, I give up. I'm completely defenseless. I've got nothing." I said, shooting up from where I was sitting. I watched as a guilty look spread across George's face.

"Woah, Woah, Quincy. I'm not here to ambush you." I tried to ignore the butterflies in my stomach as a grin found its way onto his face. His freckles were more accentuated today.

"Then what are you here for?" I noticed he was also still covered with green goo. He smiled sheepishly.

"Same as you, I guess." He replied, pulling off the jumper part of his uniform.

"Please. You wouldn't get the half of it. I barely got you with the residue of what hit me. My robes were completely dyed!" I said, getting exasperated. I watched as George's face fell.

"I mean, I thought we'd be on the same page somewhere. You get hand-me-downs, my dad already got me a new pair of robes when my two other pairs were dyed in various colours. I can't very well ask him for another set! And I'm pretty much done growing, I can't say they're too small." I mused, really just venting.

"I do understand. I'm sorry." George muttered. I was taken aback, suddenly.

"You're what?" I asked in disbelief. George rolled his eyes, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"I'm sorry, Ella." I shook off the way I enjoyed hearing my name roll off his tongue and focused on my shoes.

"It's alright," I muttered.

"Let me pay for a new pair." My head shot up.

"No, you really don't have to do that," I said. He scoffed, not taking my answer well.

"You've just told me how your robes are various colours and/or smell horrid. I didn't mean to ruin them, I went too far." I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Really, George, I can't let you do that. Look, I'm doing just fine," I said, gesturing to the bins of soapy water, "it's being handled." I said, unsure of why our dynamic had suddenly shifted so suddenly and drastically.

"I think you should move them to the clean water now," George said. I furrowed my brows, looking between him and the bins.

"I've just put them in there," I said.

"The dye has come out. Look, the soap is green. Move them to the clean water." I figured that George was familiar with laundry through his mother and I was impressed.

"Why are you helping me?" I asked, transferring my robes over to the clean water.

"I felt bad." Though George and I had an interestingly crumbled dynamic, I had discovered that he was the mellower of the twins. Fred was a handful and I felt for Pippa in that department but George seemed to at least think some of his actions through some of the time.

"Well, thanks." George smiled at me, bumping my shoulder with his and I stared down at the floor, face burning red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i kind of lost inspiration for this as i wrote it so i apologize the end feels a bit rushed. the next two chapters i already had written out so ill publish them with this one, please excuse the timeline errors, I'm trying lmao. update soon. word count: 2017


	17. Marnie and the Diary

3rd Year-

"You want me to what?" I asked, holding the black journal by pinching the top, holding it away from myself.

"Write," McGonagall said without looking up.

"Is this a joke?" I asked. McGonagall sighed, taking her glasses off.

"It was your brother's idea. And I for one think it will be very helpful." My aunt said.

"Oh come on!" I groaned.

"Marnie, just write what you're feeling. It's quite that simple." I dramatically stomped around in a little circle, groaning.

"Are you done?" McGonagall asked. I stuck my tongue out as walked towards the door.

"I love you, Marnie." She called. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I love you too."

~

"What's that?" Pippa asked, plopping down on her bed. I looked up at her.

"Diary," I replied as I wrote down what I ate for breakfast.

"Sorry? Diary?" My roommate inquired.

"Yes. Diary." I replied as I laid on my stomach on my own bed, writing things down.

"I'm sorry, you said diary?" Pippa asked. I sighed.

"Yes, Pip. Diary. McGonagall and Mavis said this would be a good idea to write my feelings down." I said using air quotations. Pippa nodded.

"That is absolutely a good idea. How is Mavis doing?" Pippa asked. I nodded.

"Doing well. Nerding out with Charlie about dragons." I replied. I smiled at the idea. Mavis and Charlie moved to Romania almost immediately after graduating.

"I heard a rumor that one is going to propose soon," I mentioned. They have been dating since their 5th year and we couldn't be happier for them. Pippa gasped with a huge grin.

"Ohhh that's brilliant! Do you think they'll come back to Scotland or England for the wedding or staying in Romania? Do you get to go? I wonder if they'll have a more rustic type theme or a sleek classy theme. Do you know if-"

"Pip, I said it was rumored. I don't know if it's quite official yet." I laughed. Pippa sighed, dramatically flopping back down on her bed.

"Tell me as soon as you hear something." She sighed.

"Always the romantic." We laughed.

~

~Summer between 3rd and 4th year~

Thursday-

Good morning.

Well, it's been good so far. I pissed Carrot Top off in Double Advanced potions which were my greatest accomplishment of the day. Pippa nearly fainted when the letter from Mavis announcing his engagement to Charlie arrived by Owl. I am really excited for them. Mavis has had a lot to deal with for a while and it's really nice to see him so happy.

Mavis sent me a separate letter, personally addressed to me. It's not unusual for him to send me letters but it was really nice to hear from him and listen to him get so excited about the engagement. Mavis tries to display himself as serious and mature when in actuality he is a giant bloody goofball.

I'm quite happy for him.

-Marnie

~

Later Thursday

Cheerio.

I would just like to say that Oliver Wood is a gift from a higher power. There is single-handedly nothing about him that isn't wonderful. I think I have decided that I definitely love him. It's not that I am unsure if I could love him, I just haven't exactly understood the idea of love but I'm almost positive this is it.

I am trying my best to be the same Marnie that I am around my friends and quite literally anyone else but he makes me nervous. And I can't find a way around it. The way he smiles is wonderfully inviting and comforting. He is a bit of a psychopath when it comes to quidditch, but then again, so am I. Empathy is an interesting thing.

Anyhow.

Ella and Pippa have been poking fun but it's not difficult to fluster Pippa by simply mentioning Fred Weasley. And of course, pushing Ella's buttons by bringing up George is usually a good way to get her to come off it. It's quite entertaining.

So, in short. I am absolutely in love with Oliver Wood and was distracted by this all day. And who knows if he'll ever feel the same way. Here's to hoping.

-Marnie

~

Friday

Ello.

Won our quidditch match today!! I just owled Mavis quickly, he could respond later tonight. I believe there will be a celebration in the Slytherin Common Room. I'm presuming it was probably just be all Slytherins as no one else really happy that we won. Not really surprised. Hufflepuff put up a very good match, Cedric is doing well as Captain. They actually caught the snitch but we ended up with more points. I'm writing this quickly as I do have a party to get to! But, I did see Oliver cheering for us during the match!

-Marnie

~

Ugh.

It looks like it's going to rain again. Yet another practice having to be postponed. Perhaps we could go over theory strategies instead. Maybe-

"Marnie?" Adrian called from the portrait opening.

"Yes?" I asked.

"I need your help, I can't get both bludgers back into the case by myself." I lightly scoffed.

"You're a chaser, why did you need the bludgers- nevermind, let's go." I paid no mind to accidentally leaving my journal in the common room, worried that the bludgers might do some damage. We walked quickly to the pitch.

~

*Pippa's POV*

Fred's shoulder bumped against mine as we walked to the courtyard. We laughed about his next idea to prank Professor Quirell when Ella and George suddenly ran up to us.

"Where's the fire o brother mine?" Fred asked. Geroge and Ella exchanged a sickening glance.

"It's your brother," Ella said, pulling my arm. Geroge tugged on Fred's sleeve as we rushed into the crowd of students. Draco stood at the front, reading from a black book, loud and exaggerated.

As he read from the book, I recognized the tone of the writing and suddenly remembered the diary that McGonagall gave to Marnie. I felt the blood drain from my face. I glanced over to Oliver Wood as he had been sitting under a tree

"Pipsqueak, you look like you've seen a ghost," Fred said, concerned.

"Oh Merline, Marnie. That's Marnie's diary."

~

*Marnie's POV*

"Right. We should be set." Adrian sighed, thankfully.

"Appreciate it, Cap." I laughed.

"Let's get this back to Hooch's office, yeah?"

"Marnie!"

"Marn, you have to come with us!" I whipped my head around, squinting as I watched Pippa and Ella running towards me.

"Wh- what is going on?" I asked as they pulled on my arms.

"I'm helping Adrian-"

"We have to go, right now!" Ella stressed, yanking my arm.

"Alright, alright! Adrian, do you mind" He nodded, urging me to go.

"Merlin, will you two relax! What is going on?" I asked as my friends pulled me, running back in the direction they came. The girls pulled me to the courtyard and were stunned to see a large gathering of students.

"What's this a poetry reading?" I joked, unsure of what to make of the situation. What made me nervous was watching the Twins as well as Harry, Ron, and Hermionie attempting to get whatever Draco was reading away from him.

"I would just like to say that Oliver Wood is a gift from a higher power. There is single-handedly nothing about him that isn't wonderful. I think I have decided that I definitely love him. It's not that I am unsure if I could love him, I just haven't exactly understood the idea of love but I'm almost positive this is it."

I felt my stomach fall out of my arse and the breakfast I ate quickly coming back up.

"Oh my god," I whispered, stuck frozen. It was also at that moment I realized that particular passage also mentioned Pippa's infatuation with Fred and also talking about George and Ella.

"Oh my god," I repeated, praying that Malfoy left them out of it.

"So, in short. I am absolutely in love with Oliver Wood and was distracted by this all day. And who knows if he'll ever feel the same way. Here's to hoping.

-Marnie"

"Oh my god." I couldn't find the means to say anything else. My eyes were glued to Malfoy. I decided I was going to then make his life a living hell. I suddenly felt drops of rain falling.

The gathering of students began to disperse, either losing interest or trying to avoid the rain. Draco dropped my journal, smirking at me. My face grew redder if that was even possible.

My eyes wandered around the crowd and my heart officially stopped upon seeing Wood standing in the courtyard. I tried to get my feet to move as he suddenly starting walking towards me.

Move! My brain yelled at me. I hadn't even realized I was crying as I immediately took off running back towards the pitch.

"McGonagall!" Wood called. I ignored him and kept running. It began to rain harder as I let out of a sob. I made my way into the broom cupboard, slamming the wooden door shut kicking it angrily afterward.

Absolute rubbish. Rubbish diary. Rubbish feelings. Rubbish everything.

I inhaled deeply trying to find a way to calm down and make myself feel better. Forget about ever talking to or being around Oliver ever again. Of course, I decided to write down that I loved him. Not even that I possibly fancied him, nope!

Marnie McGonagall, ever the drama queen.

Thinking quickly, I grabbed a broom and left the outer robes of my uniform tossed aside in the cupboard. The rain was now pouring down in sheets but I honestly couldn't find any energy to actually care.

I continued to cry, hiccuping and sniffing like an idiot, unable to stop. I mindless went up in the air and sat for a moment, almost enjoying the rain on my face.

Of course, I failed to think through the idea of no protective goggles, gloves, or anything remotely helpful in keeping me on the broom. I'm more than used to playing quidditch in severe weather but seeing as today was rather unpredictable, I didn't have any sort of gear to keep me on the broom.

The wind whipped around as I flew around the pitch trying to remember happy things and remind myself that life was not all about boys. My life was not going to fall apart over Oliver Wood.

I began to feel better as I repeated this in my head. I descended, getting closer and closer to the pitch. I had been around 15 feet from the grass when a strong gust of wind blew through and I lost my grip on my broom.

"Again," I muttered as I braced myself for at least a dislocated shoulder. I closed my eyes but never hit the ground.

"My, my Marnie, I didn't realize you were such a catch." I opened my eyes slowly.

"Piss off," I whispered.

"This is very familiar." Oliver Wood said, smirking at me from above me, "I just made sure you didn't crack your skull open on this pitch and you tell me to piss off?" I sniffed, wiping at my eyes.

"Thank you for catching me, now piss off," I said, embarrassed. I held my breath as Oliver shift his hold on me, leaning in. He brushed some of my wet hair out of my face.

"I will always catch you. You are quite clumsy, though." I rolled my eyes.

"Shut up and kiss me," I said.

"As you wish."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda really like this one lol. update soon. word count: 1940


	18. Marnie and the Miscommunication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Part Two of Marnie and the Diary)

"Tell us everything, don't leave out a single detail," Pippa said, climbing onto Ella's bed. I sat next to Ella also on the bed, barely able to contain my own smile.

"We're living vicariously through you, Marn," Ella said plopping down on her bed.

"Alright, alright. We're just waiting for Angelina." Speaking of whom, entered her and Ella's dorm in a rush.

"I didn't miss anything did it?" She asked. I shook my head.

"Just in time," Pippa said.

"Okay, tell us everything," Ang said.

"Right, so that little shit brother of yours, no offense Pip-"

"Please, none taken-"

"- was reading the journal Minerva gave me and being Marnie, I wrote down exactly what I was feeling but I obviously never thought anyone would read it. And of course, Wood was listening to the whole time. But it had started to rain when everyone seemed to get bored and I made eye contact with Wood who started to walk over to me." I took a breath, watching my friend's faces.

"Annnnnnnd?" Pippa drew out, resting her chin in her hands. Angelina and Ella and I laughed.

"Annnnnnnd, Wood ran after me but I went to the broom cupboard, kicked the door a couple of times," I laughed, "but I took a broom out and flew around because I thought it would make me feel better. And it did until I was coming back down and the wind pushed me off. But Wood was there and it was just like the first time I fell and he caught me, down to the same things he said the first time. And then he kissed me in the rain." Pippa and Angelina squealed in excitement and Ella sighed with a smile.

"I know!" I said, getting excited. Ella leaned in closer.

"So, what now? Have you spoken about anything?" She asked. My face fell slightly.

"Well, not really." I ran my hand through my hair.

"Not really?"

"I mean, we've held hands in the hall and have been hanging out together but we honestly have been so busy we haven't really had a good chance to talk about it," I said, playing with my fingers.

Suddenly there was clambering up the doors and a rushed knock on the door. Whoever it was, didn't wait for any answers.

"We've got a problem." It was Alicia Spinnet, out of breath and slamming the door behind her.

"What's wrong?" Ella asked. Alicia was pacing.

"Katie Bell is what's wrong." She muttered.

"Why what-"

"She's asked Wood to go to Hogsmeade with her and he said yes." My head shot up, beat red.

"Oh?" I asked. Alicia's face fell into a sympathetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Marn. We could go find a way to stop it." I smiled, tensely.

"No, it's alright," I said, climbing off of Ella's bed.

"It's alright?" Angelina echoed. I nodded.

"We're not official or anything. How was she to know?" I said, playing with the end of my jumper.

"But he said yes, that can't be a good thing," Pippa said, solemnly.

"Well, like I said. We weren't officially together. And if he wants to go, it's not really my place to stop him."

"Do you want us to speak with him? Or if you wanted, maybe you want to speak to him?" Angelina asked. She was now standing next to me with her hand on my shoulder.

"Thank you, ladies. I can probably manage to speak to him. Alicia, thanks for telling me." She smiled and I felt a bit guilty that she wasn't hanging out with us earlier.

"Hey, Al," I said.

"Yeah, you weren't here hanging out with us earlier, let's all do something later or tonight," I suggested. Alicia smiled widely.

"Yeah, that'd be fun." I looked at the other girls in the room. They nodded, smiling as well.

"Are you going to find Wood now?" Ella asked.

"If I run into him I'll bring it up," I said, picking at my nails.

"Marn, it would be a really good thing to talk to him about it. Relationships are about stable communication." Pippa added, smiling gently. I nodded, smiling tightly.

"I know."

"And you are certainly never one to hold your opinions back," Angelina said, laughing. I laughed and she squeezed my arm reassuringly. I smiled at her, feeling appreciative.

"Go find him! Fred said he's on the quidditch pitch." Pippa said, smiling. I nodded, gathering courage. If there's one thing I have it's courage but it always seems to disappear as soon as Wood is around.

"I'll try. And we'll all hang out tonight." I said, smiling. I wandered my way out of Ella and Angie's dorm with an icky, out-of-place feeling.

"Are you okay, Marnie?" My eyes followed the voice in the Common room that asked me. It was Neville. I nodded.

"Oh yeah, Nev, I'm fine. Thanks." He smiled reassuringly at me and I tried to return it. He and I had been making an arrangement to trade knowledge on Herbology (cause I'm rubbish at it) and Potions and Charms (cause he's rubbish at those).

I needed to find an actual reason to be on the pitch and as I grew closer to the destination, I found myself with no reasons and unable to find any sort of words at all. Upon arriving, I could see Wood flying around by the goalposts with an enchanted Quaffle. Think Marnie.

Just as I was about to turn around and give up, Wood called down to me. I grimaced.

"Oi, McGonagall!" He shouted down to me, coming back towards the ground. I couldn't help as my face flushed.

"Fancy seeing you here." I joked, trying to make myself calmer. Wood's pretty smile grew wider.

"Come on." He said, holding his hand out. I looked at him, unsure of what he was getting at. As Wood remounted his broom, holding out his hand.

"You're joking right?" I said. Oliver dissolved into a soft chuckle.

"Captain of the Slytherin team is afraid of a little adventure?" He teased. My face heated up and I took this as a challenge. I took his hand and he pulled me onto his broom and I gasped at the sudden movement.

"Oh my God," I whispered as he kicked off the ground. I realized in disbelief that Wood was soaring about the grass as I sat on his broom, facing him, unable to open my eyes. One of my hands tightly held the broom and the other clung onto Oliver's sleeve of his quidditch uniform.

"You're completely mad," I whispered and Wood laughed.

"I'm not going to let you fall." He whispered back. I laughed, nervously, still refusing to open my eyes, "I really didn't pin you for being afraid of heights, Miss I-didn't-scream-when-I-fell-off-my-broom-twice." I laughed, again, now opening my eyes and training them on Wood.

"I like being in control of my own broom. Not only am I on your broom with you, but I'm also not facing the correct way, nor am I wearing the proper attire for this." I breathed out. Before I knew it, Oliver was pulling me closer to him, letting my legs rest over his, securing me by holding my thighs, gently.

"You worry too much," Oliver said. I rolled my eyes.

"Hi Marnie, I didn't even know it was you, you look just like Oliver!" I said, putting my arms around his waist. Oliver let his head drop back as he laughed.

"If I fall a third time, whose going to catch me if you're up here with me?" I whispered, leaning in. Oliver followed suit, leaning in closer.

"I told you, I won't let you fall." Oliver smiled gently before kissing me softly. I smiled into the kiss, holding onto him tighter. I had almost completely forgotten about my worries and even my main reason for coming out to speak to him in the first place. I continued to move my lips against Oliver's until I suddenly remembered his planned evening with Katie Bell.

Discouraged, I pulled away slowly. Oliver looked worried as I didn't look at him.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He asked, gently. I couldn't help but smile. Before speaking, I cleared my throat softly.

"I heard you're going to Hogsmede with Katie Bell tonight," I said, as nonchalantly as possible. Oliver's expression didn't change much as I asked this. I had come to understand that he is a bit difficult to read at times.

"I believe so, yes. She mentioned looking at new gloves, asked what kind I'd recommend. She mentioned it might easier to just show her." I relaxed a little as he seemed to be under the impression that it wasn't a date.

But, "oh," was all I could manage to say. I really wanted to tell Wood not to go. I wanted to tell him to bring me instead. I wanted to just hold the moment we were having for a while longer. But I couldn't do that to Katie. She's a nice enough girl and Wood and I aren't exclusive. Who am I to tell him what to do?

"Are you alright?" He asked. I nodded, smiling tightly.

"Yes. Peachy." I replied, half-heartedly. I didn't notice Wood as scrunched his nose, looking at me concerningly.

"Do you want to go back?" He asked. I desperately didn't. And if I was braver I would've spoken to him right then and there but hey, I wasn't put into Slytherin for my bravery.

"Yeah," I said, quietly. So much for Pippa's praise on communication. I'd get an earful about that later. Wood carefully flew back down to the pitch, grabbing my hand steadily.

"I'll see you later?" He asked. I nodded, trying to smile. Oliver leaned down and placed a kiss on each side of my head and then a quick kiss on my lips.

"Yeah."

~

"So you didn't speak to him?" Ella groaned. I laid on a couch of the Gryffindor Common Room while Ella had her head resting on my lower legs. My own head rested on Angelina's lap. Pippa was perched on the ground in front of the couch and Alicia was seated next to her.

"No," I replied, picking at my nails. The girls around me groaned. I squeezed my eyes shut.

"I know! I know. I wanted to and I almost did!" It wasn't a complete lie, I did go to speak to him.

"What did happen?" Angie asked, playing with the ends of my bangs. I sighed.

"I went to the pitch to try and speak with him and he was flying around, practicing," I left out the part where I almost left completely, "he pulled me onto his broom and we went up in the air." Pippa looked a bit green as I said this which made me chuckle softly.

"On his broom? Like together?" Alicia asked. I nodded.

"Thought I was going to die, to be honest," I said, smiling, "I was in front of him on the broom, facing him! I told him he was completely mad, but I didn't really get a chance to speak to him about it." I said, nervously playing with my fingers.

"Didn't get the chance, huh?" Ella teased, poking my foot. I rolled my eyes, a blush creeping up my neck.

"He said they were just looking at new quidditch gloves. I mean, he didn't look to be going on a date. But the man's impossible to read." I explained, huffing.

"He is pretty thick," Angelina said and I smiled up at her, "I'm sure this is a harmless outing, right?" She suggested. I nodded in agreement.

"He's a nice person, I think he really was just being nice. And I don't want to blame Katie for any reason," I added, "how was she to know? And you don't really get to control who you like." I mused. My friends nodded.

"Good point." Ella agreed.

"Besides, I trust him," I added, almost half-heartedly. I do trust him, though I felt strange saying that seeing as we are not exclusively together.

"You don't have to feel strange about that, Marn." Pippa pipped in. I smiled at her, knowing she knows me too well.

"You read my mind, Pip." I laughed. Her eyes were bright under her wireframe glasses.

"I think you two will be alright," Alicia spoke up, "really! He's a little thick sometimes but he means well and you should hear the way he talks about you!" My face reddened while Ella and Angelina smiled, rolling their eyes.

"He talks about me?" I asked, shyly.

"Oi, Marnie, it never ends! Makes me want to date you!" Angelina exclaimed suddenly, hugging me. I laughed at her actions.

"Forget Wood, I'll be your girlfriend." I joked to her. Angelina dramatically fluttered her eyes.

"You two are too much." Ella laughed.

"He speaks wonderfully of you, Marn, really. Talks about your eyes all the time and how mad you can be." Alicia filled in. I couldn't help but smile.

"You've got him wrapped around your finger, I know it," Pippa said with a smile. I rolled my eyes.

"Sure."

As the night went on, we continued to laugh and talk and joke around with each other. I watched Pippa continue to check her watch, getting fidgety.

"Goodnight, Pip," I said. She looked at me funny.

"You're getting anxious about curfew," I said, twisting a ring I had on around my finger. Pippa smiled, her face going red.

"You rule follower." Ella joked and Pippa rolled her eyes, smiling.

"In my defense, it is getting late. I'll see you lot tomorrow. Love you all!" She said, standing and waving. We bid her goodbye as she exited the Common Room.

After a while, Alicia retired upstairs along with Ella following shortly.

"Are you nervous about the match coming up?" Angelina asked me. I chewed on my lip.

"Yeah. Markus is talking of a new seeker." I said. Angelina sighed.

"What's wrong with Terrance?" She inquired. I shrugged.

"Personally, I don't think anything, but Markus seems to think otherwise. I don't think we need a new seeker and I don't want to hold tryouts." I said, laughing lightly. Angie laughed too.

"You are very smart, I know you'll work it out. But if you need to or want to talk about it, let me know." She said, brushing some stray hairs from my face. I smile.

"I appreciate it, Ang, thanks. I just don't want Malfoy. At all. He keeps bugging me about it." Angelina laughed and I did too.

"He's a git." She said.

"I know! I can't stand him. My father will hear about this! It's bloody rubbish!" Angelina and I laughed loudly and genuinely.

"Why do you sound so much like him, that's terrifying." She laughed, wiping her eyes. My stomach filled with butterflies as I watched her laugh above me. I smiled at her carefree expression.

"He says it enough times," I replied. Angelina checked her own watch and grimaced.

"Oi, I think I'll head up. Are you going to wait for Wood?" She asked. I sat up enough for Angelina to slide off the couch.

"Yeah, I think I'll hang around for a bit," I replied. Angie smiled and I returned the smile.

"I know you won't, but don't get caught by Filch." She laughed. I smiled.

"Thanks. I'll let you know when I end up in detention." Angelina rolled her eyes, smiling.

"Night, Marn." I nodded.

"Night, Ang." She made her way up the stairs and I laid back down on the couch. I stared at the ceiling, drifting in and out of focus, letting my thoughts wander. I had begun to lose track of time when the portrait door swung open and Oliver and Katie stepped through. I quickly tore my eyes away, looking back at the ceiling, pretending to mind my own business. They spoke in hushed tones, Katie briefly glancing over at me.

I closed my eyes, embarrassed that I was present. She told him goodnight and wandered up the stairs.

"Funny, this isn't your Common Room." I opened my eyes to find Oliver leaning over me, smiling. I bit my lip, holding a smile back.

"Surprise? I'm a Gryffindor now?" I tried, making a joke. Oliver rolled his eyes, smiling.

"Shame. Kinda liked you in green." I smiled, "Scooch." He said. Mildly confused, I sat up for a moment and Oliver laid down behind me. He tapped my shoulders and I flipped over onto my stomach and laid on him, resting my head on his chest. I let my arms rest on either side of him and he put his arms around my back, holding me, tightly.

"How was your date?" I asked before I could stop myself. Oliver chuckled. I was thankful that he couldn't see my face burning crimson.

"It wasn't at all a date, so no need to fret over that." Oliver's hand wandered up to my head, gently running his fingers through my hair, playing with it.

"Is that so?" I replied.

"Did you think Katie and I were going on a date?" Oliver asked. I did my best to take a deep breath and exhale slowly, gathering my thoughts. Marn, it would be a really good thing to talk to him about it. Relationships are about stable communication. Pippa's voice rang clearly in my head.

"I did, yeah. I thought it was a date." I said after a moment. Oliver laughed again and I grew a tad bit frustrated.

"I think Katie thought it was a date too," Oliver started, "I assured her it wasn't a date. I told her I am not in a position to be going on any dates at the moment." Oliver replied. I felt my chest fall and discouragement was creeping into my thoughts.

"I phrased that poorly, I'm not in any position to be going on dates with anyone other than my girlfriend." I bit back a smile.

"Girlfriend?" I asked, raising my eyes to meet his. Oliver's dark brown eyes were sparkling and watching me contently.

"Yes. Girlfriend. Her name is Marnie. I think you'd like her." I laughed lightly. Oliver paused a moment before speaking again.

"Girlfriend. Is that something you'd want to be?" He asked. I nodded, smiling.

"Boyfriend," I whispered, "Is that something you'd want to be?" Oliver smiled brightly.

"Only if it's with you." I rolled my eyes, smiling. I rested my head back on his chest, contently.

"You're a handful," I replied. Oliver leaned forward, kissing my forehead.

"Ah, yes. But I'm your handful." I playfully hit his chest, laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i kinda got carried away with this one not gonna lie. i like it tho and i hope yall do too! absolutely i did write this while i was supposed to be doing work for finals week but whats finals week without a whole bunch of procrastination! hope everyone is doing well! update soon: Word Count: 3150


	19. Pippa and the Mirror of Erised

2nd year

Marnie had dragged me down to the dungeons and then deserted me here. Hogwarts' dungeon system is extensive and I was finding that out as I attempted to navigate my way back out. The night dragged on and I grew hopeless, knowing Marnie had taken the Maurder's Map with her.

As I passed by a chamber, I noticed the door was cracked open. I had suddenly begun to feel an incredible urge to go into this room. The feeling got the best of me as I found myself sneaking into the dark chamber. The moonlight from outside seeped in as I found myself faced with a large object towering over me, covering in a tarp. I yanked on the tarp, letting it fall to the ground, and gasped as the object turned out to be a large mirror.

In the mirror, I saw myself standing, looking confused. As I stepped closer, blinking rapidly as my eyes adjusted to the dark, another figure appeared in the mirror. A tall ginger boy whose smile was brighter than any star in the night sky. My head whipped around to look behind me, only to find there was no one there.

I smiled at the image of Fred Weasley and myself standing side by side, hands intertwined. Heat assaulted my face as I had suddenly realized that the mirror showed me what I wanted. Fred, in the mirror, leaned down and placed a kiss on my forehead, smiling.

I closed my eyes for a moment, taking a breath. When I opened them again, Fred was gone. However, there were two adults standing in his place. A woman with long red hair and dark brown eyes, smiling. She was holding a young boy in her arms. On the other side of me, stood a man with dark hair and glasses, very much like mine. He was also smiling.

I desperately wracked my brain trying to think of who these people were, unable to recognize them. Whoever these people were, they were obviously significant to me, but I couldn't figure for the life of me who they were or why I wanted them to be in my life.

I thought for a moment. I had never met my parents. Or, knew them enough to remember them. Perhaps, that's them? In the mirror?

"Pippa?" I gasped, startled as Marnie's voice ripped through my thoughts.

"Merlin, Marn, you scared me," I said with my hand on my chest. She smiled, devilishly.

"Sorry, Pip." Marnie stepped into the room.

"Oh, you found the Mirror of Erised." Marnie mused, walking up to it. I looked at her funny.

"The what?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"The Mirror of Erised. It shows you the thing you want the most." She said, glancing over at it.

"Strange," I replied.

"What did you see?" Marnie asked. I couldn't think of anything to say. Marnie didn't wait for an answer, sensing I didn't want to respond.

"Come on, we should get back for Filch has our arses." I nodded, following her out the chamber, quickly looking back at the mirror in awe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short and quick. i didn't have any huge ideas for this one. update soon. Word count: 523


	20. Marnie and the Talk with Oliver

I stood looking at myself in the mirror, trying my hardest not to freak out. Pippa stood behind me with an encouraging smile.

"You know you don't have to do this today if you're not ready." She said. I sighed, rubbing my face.

"I know, I know. It's just that today feels like a good day to do it." I replied. I had woken up feeling confident and completely ready but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to shrink away.

"Well, don't stress yourself out too much. Wood likes you a lot and this won't change anything. And if he does react badly, then he's an asshole and you deserve so much better than that. But you know he won't." Pippa put her hand on my shoulder, smiling at me.

"Remember how nervous you were to tell us and McGonagall?" She said. I smiled tightly, remembering vividly.

"Yes, I do."

"And we all love and support you. This is something you get to choose to do, you don't have to force yourself if you're not ready." She brushed some hair behind my shoulders, flattening it down, soothingly.

"What is your gut telling you?" She whispered. I sighed.

"I don't know. I want to. I want to do it today but I don't want him to freak out." I said. Pippa nodded.

"Completely understandable. But like I said, this s your decision and it doesn't add or take away from you at all. You're still Marnie no matter what." Pippa said. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

"And, it's more like letting him know. You did the hardest part, telling everyone, a couple of years ago." I knew she was right, I had already made this realization about myself when I was younger and was secure in that discovery. I still am and it's relatively common knowledge, but I wasn't sure how much Wood knew.

"Okay," I said, straightening up, "I'm good. I want to do it."

~

"Hey, Wood, have you got a moment?" I asked. He was sitting in the Gryffindor common room looking over Quidditch plans for his next match. The common room was relatively empty. He looked up from what he was doing with a smile.

"Sure thing, Marn. What's up?" I had begun to wring my hands together, nervously.

"Can I talk to you?" I asked. He nodded but didn't move. "Privately?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Oh, yeah, of course. Here, Percy is out on rounds, is my dorm okay?" He asked. I nodded, watching him gather the things he was working on, and followed him up the stairs to his floor. The boys' dormitory in the Gryffindor Tower looked similar to that of the Slytherin dungeons but going up instead of down.

"Here we are." Wood said, opening the door for me. I hadn't actually seen his room before until now. I looked around, taking in the quidditch posters on his side of the room. Percy's side looked exactly how I figured it would: not a single thing out of place.

"Right love, what did you want to talk about?" Oliver asked, sitting on his bed. I decided I would stand, looking down at him. I had trouble getting my thoughts together and Oliver gently took my hands in his, noticing my agitation.

"Well, here it goes," I muttered, taking a breath, "Oliver, I like you a lot. And Pippa is always preaching about good communication so I wanted to tell you this, I guess to let you know. I already did the whole shebang when I was a second year, so it's pretty public knowledge, but I wanted you to hear directly from me." I took a breath and cleared my head.

I felt Oliver squeeze my hands, smiling up at me.

"Right, I'm bisexual. I like guys and girls." I said quickly. Oliver's face remained in a comforting smile.

"Thank you for telling me, love. I'm sure it was nerve-wracking and I'm proud of you and happy that you did." He said, softly. I smiled quickly, feeling tears prick my eyes.

"Really?" I whispered. He wiped away a stray tear running down my cheek.

"Marnie, of course. I like you a lot too and I am confident in your feelings for me. It doesn't change anything and it doesn't change how I feel about you. I'm happy that you told me and glad that you are comfortable telling me, it means a lot." He replied. I let out a mix combining a laugh and a sob.

"Oh sweet girl, please don't cry," Oliver said, standing. He pulled me towards him and hugged me tightly.

"I'm sorry," I said, sniffling.

"Don't be! I can't imagine how you felt beforehand but I'm really proud of you." He spoke softly, stroking my hair. I smiled, hugging him tighter. Pippa and I both knew he wouldn't react poorly and it felt nice to see that.

"Thank you," I said. He smiled brightly at me.

"Anything. Thank you for telling me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a short little chapter! i had planned this for Marnie's character a long time ago in my character mapping phase and planned on writing this and publishing it earlier but i completely forgot in the chaos of my semester ending and getting caught up in other chapters but here we go! update soon. word count: 884


	21. Marnie and Oliver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Marnie dating Oliver includes:

~ Started as strangers

~ Oliver caught Marnie when she fell off her broomstick

~ Began hanging around each other

~ Marnie makes jokes about Oliver having a crush on her even tho they are dating

~ McGonagall LOVES Oliver thinks he's good for Marnie

~ “I'm honored. You hate most everything, but I don't seem to be one of them.”

~ Balances Marnie out

~ Rub off on each other: Oliver tends to be more sarcastic around Marnie, Marnie tends to be nicer and happier around Oliver

~ Captains of opposing quidditch teams

~ Never go easy on each other during matches

~ Always quietly worried for the other's safety

~ Banter during games

~ Being happy for the other no matter who won (tho Oliver might need a little cheering up if Gryffindor lost)

~ Holding hands all the time

~ Likes cuddles with Oliver

~ Stealing kisses all the time

~ Neck kisses

~ "Love"

~ "Darling"

~ "Beautiful"

~ Tight, comforting hugs

~ In many classes together but sometimes go for a while without seeing each other

~ Best friends as well as dating

~ Sometimes arguing over quidditch

~ Sometimes arguing over misplaced attention

~ Marnie getting lonely in Slytherin without Oliver or the Weasley Twins

~ Braiding Marnie's hair

~ Playing 1 on 1 quidditch

~ Picnics

~ Stealing each other's quidditch strategies

~ Cuddling

~ Overall kind of touchy

~ Stealing his sweaters

~ Accidentally switching robes

~ Sneaking out of the Slytherin dorm to see Oliver

~ Marnie knowing every common room's password

~ Hogsmeade Dates

~ Giving Marnie sweets

~ Thinking Marnie is adorable when she is grumpy or just being Marnie

~ Being scrutinized for dating the captain of a rival team

~ Never letting it interfere with games

~ Marnie gets especially nervous before every game

~ Oliver always has a quick minute to diffuse any anxiety with a kiss or hug

~ They obviously have a secret handshake

~ Waiting for each other after class

~ Marnie is a prefect with Percy who hates her

~ Passing notes in class

~ Sending letters to each other

~ Marnie spends most holidays with Oliver's family in Edinburgh

~ The Wood family loves Marnie

~ Building snowmen and having snowball fights

~ Visiting the Weasley's for holidays too

~ Oliver comforting Marnie around the anniversary of her parents' death

~ Also comforting her when she is constantly accused of her team cheating in quidditch

~ Sometimes thinks she isn't good [enough] for Oliver

~ Forehead kisses

~ Height difference

~ Being more affectionate in private than in public

~ Shows small signs of PDA in public, like hand-holding

~ Not getting to be completely alone often, so they enjoy every minute together


	22. Marnie and the Quidditch Injury

"No quidditch." Madam Pomfrey said. I sat up, quickly.

"No quidditch? You can't-"

"Marnie, no quidditch." I threw my head back down onto the pillow groaning. Oliver sat to the side of the bed, holding my hand.

"You have got to be kidding! The season starts in two weeks!" I exclaimed. Madam Pomfrey just shook her head, leaning a pair of crutches next to the bed.

"You've completely shattered your knee cap and shin. I've done what I can magically to fix the bone, but the rest has to heal as a muggle's bone would."

"A knee cap takes 6 to 8 weeks and a broken shin takes 3 to 6 months! That's like the whole season!" I cried out.

"I am very sorry dear, you know how bludgers can be," Pomfrey said. I stared at the ceiling, trying to keep the tears forming in my eyes from pouring out.

"I really am sorry, Marnie." She said.

"Sure," I muttered. She went off to attend to other students and Oliver squeezed my hand. I rolled my eyes towards him.

"It's going to be alright, love." He whispered. I had a difficult time believing this. Oliver and I, the quidditch fanatics. The ones who spend all day every day obsessing over quidditch. Our entire lives and now I am unable to play for up to eight months.

I didn't believe for one second that everything will be alright.

"I know you don't believe me, and that's alright too," Oliver added as if reading my mind. I nodded, not saying anything.

"How long do I have to stay here?" I asked as Pomfrey wandered back over.

"I'd like to keep you through the night for observation." My stomach knotted itself at the thought. Not only is the room huge, but it is also dark and dead silent.

"Right," I whispered. She wandered off again and Oliver leaned down to my ear.

"I'll come to visit you." He whispered in my ear, leaving little kisses on the shell of my ear and landing on my forehead. I felt more at ease.

"Are you sure?" I asked. Oliver smiled, brushing some hair behind my ear.

"Yes, no question."

~

I laid in the dark, uncomfortably, staring up at the ceiling. I tried to focus on the other students breathing and not on the deafening silence. I began to worry that Wood wasn't coming but also that it was asking too much.

My leg ached like nothing else and my back ached at the position I had to lay in. I held my breath as footsteps approached my bed.

"Hi, love." I exhaled at Wood's soft voice. I smiled up at him.

"I was worried you weren't going to come," I said aloud. Oliver chuckled as I felt Oliver's hands under my back and legs, gently scooting me over to one side of the bed.

"Are you seriously moving me to the other side of my own bed?" I asked. Oliver chuckled, nodding.

"Yes. How are you feeling?" He asked, brushing my bangs away.

"I'm fine. I mean, I guess like physically fine." I replied. Oliver peppered kisses on my forehead and temples, holding me close to him.

"I know it feels like the world is ending," he said, between kisses, "but I promise you, it isn't. And of course, coming from me, I wouldn't believe me either." I laughed lightly.

"I appreciate you trying to understand." I joked. Oliver rolled his eyes, smiling.

~

"No." Markus crossed his arms, looking at Malfoy.

"But Marnie-"

"No. Absolutely no way." Draco stared up at me with that extra-punchable face and it made me feel sick.

"We could just give him a chance-" Markus tried. I crossed my arms the best I could.

"We don't need another Seeker. Terrance is a perfectly respectable Seeker. And he didn't try to buy his way onto the team." I sneered.

"Why don't we just see how he does at practice. I am interim Captain." Markus said, getting up and starting to leave.

"Exactly! Interim!" I called. I debated momentarily if I should drag my crutches with me or just endure the pain of chasing after him. Because I am stubborn, I opted for the latter.

The best I could, I hobbled after the two boys.

"Markus! He's not our Seeker!" I called. They moved much faster than me. I was out of breath and writhing in pain as I attempted to gain on them.

"Markus! Please slow down." I called, my voice fading into a pained whimper. Markus turned around and sighed. The rest of our team had been waiting in the courtyard. I watched, in pain as the Gryffindor team also approached, along with Ron and Hermione. I rolled my eyes.

"Are you alright?" Markus asked, holding my arm.

"I'm fine! I'm bloody-" I took a shaky breath, "I'm not fine." I whispered. Markus helped me over to the rest of our team.

"I don't believe it." Wood grumbled.

"Got a note from Snape for the pitch," Markus said, handing it over.

"You're kidding." Wood replied.

"We didn't have the pitch this morning, what did you do?" I grumbled to Markus. He had let go of my arm and I stumbled to find my balance. I glanced at my boyfriend as he held onto my shoulder, helping me stand.

"We need to train our new Seeker," Markus replied, smugly. I rolled my eyes.

"We do not have a new Seeker. Seriously, where is Terrance?" I asked, quickly losing patience. I felt Oliver's hold on my arm grow a bit tighter.

"New seeker?" He muttered. Draco stepped forward with that Merlin-awful smirk resting on his face.

"Malfoy?" Harry Potter had stepped forward.

"And that's not all that's new." Draco and the rest of the team showed off their new brooms. The Nimbus 2001. I rolled my eyes before I could stop myself.

"Did you get one too?" Wood asked me. I sighed.

"They have one for me. I'm not using a broom used to buy into a team." I replied, glaring at Malfoy. I watched as the Gryffindor team stared in awe at the latest broom edition.

"Now you'll really have to catch up to us." Malfoy sneered.

"You are not on the team," I said.

"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way on! They all have talent." Hermione interjected. I smiled, nodding in agreement.

"No one asked you, you filthy little Mudblood." Draco spat. I couldn't stop the gasp that flew from my mouth.

"Oh yeah, Malfoy? Eat slugs!" Ron said, pointing his broken wand at him. The spell, however, hit Ron instead. I dragged Malfoy's arm, pulling him away from the group.

"Are you absolutely bloody serious?" He said nothing.

"No, really. I'd love to know. Are you really going to toss that word around? You are a spoiled, selfish little worm who has never had to work for anything in his life!" I yelled. I didn't notice both of the teams splitting their attention between me and Ron.

"You think just because you're a Pureblood than you're better than everyone else, huh? Hermione has more magical ability in her little pinky than you do in your entire miserable being! Blood status means nothing, Malfoy. Get that through your head. Do you seriously enjoy being hated by everyone? Do you seriously enjoy being a little shit? Go. Leave, I'll think about letting you on this team but take your broom and your daddy's money and get out of my face. Get away from my team." I sneered.

"My father will-"

"Yes! Your father will hear about this! I'll send the bloody letter! If you ever pull a stunt or insult anyone like that again, I swear to Merlin you will never see a quidditch pitch ever again. Do I make myself clear?" I said, getting close to his face. Malfoy said nothing, just glared at me.

"That's what I thought. Get out of my sight." I growled. He walked off.

"Oliver, take the pitch," I said, hobbling back over.

"What, Marnie-"

"Oliver, take the pitch!" I yelled over Markus' protests.

"You are not the captain of this team. Like it or not, injured or not, I am. If you've got an issue, either suck it up or quit. It's not my problem. Anyone else have any colorfully offensive insults they'd like to throw around? Don't be shy, if you're a piece of shit, just come on out and say it." I didn't realize how angry I was until I heard Malfoy say the word. I hadn't ever actually heard anyone say it before.

"Wonderful. I do not tolerate the better-than-thou attitude on this team. Most if not all of you are Purebloods. Get over it. It doesn't make you better than anyone else it just makes you a pain. We'll practice tomorrow, goodbye." I said, out of breath. My team slinked off back to wherever they were before and the Gryffindor team stood, stunned.

"Woah. She's bloody scary." I couldn't help but laugh as Ron whispered to Harry.

"Hermione, could I have a word? If that's alright with you?" I asked, gently. She nodded, not looking up.

"You'll be okay?" Oliver asked. I nodded. He leaned over, placing a kiss on my forehead.

"Have a good practice," I said, addressing the team. The Gryffindor team headed off and I wandered over to Hermione.

"Would you like to sit?" I asked. She shrugged and we made our way to a bench under a tree.

"Listen, Hermione," I said, looking over at her, "I know we don't know each other well. But, I like you a lot. You've got spunk and you give everyone a run for their money." I said. This made Hermione laugh light, showing a bit of a smile.

"I said this to Malfoy, but I'll tell you too, I think you should hear it. You've got more magical ability in that little pinky of yours than he has in his entire being. And I mean that. You are brilliant. You've almost got me beat with my own Double Advanced Potions." I put my hand on her shoulder.

"I know this is easier said than done, but don't listen to a single thing Malfoy says. He's got nothing on you and he probably only called you that because he knows it. He is fully aware that you are so much more than he will ever be." I said. Hermione finally looked at me. Her eyes were glossed over but she had a small smile on her face.

"To be honest, you scare me a lot." I laughed at this, shrugging, "but, you're really nice. From what Percy says about you... I should form my own opinion." Hermione trailed off. I laughed.

"Don't mind Percy. He doesn't know anything. True, there aren't usually fourth-year Prefects but see, I single-handedly managed to do that, just to piss him off. See, I'm very dedicated to the craft." Hermione laughed more and I was happy to see her smile.

"There's that lovely smile. You, Hermione, are something else. And I mean that in the best way. You are not the only muggle-born student here, and you certainly won't be the last. There is no difference between you and me. We both deserve to be here and we both deserve to learn greatness. Though, I'd say you're already on the fast track." I said, winking at her.

"Thank you, Marnie. I like you too, by the way. You were just a bit intimidating." Hermione laughed. I smiled.

"I'm working on it. I am a bit brash sometimes and I often forget to mind other people's feelings but I am very secure in defending people, especially those who are wrongfully attacked." I said.

"Are you going to be okay without your crutches?" Hermione asked.

"Marnie McGonagall!" I whipped my head around to a seething Madam Pomfrey who was holding the discarded crutches I left behind.

"Well, it seems like Poppy's got me covered there." I laughed and Hermione smiled.

"Thanks again, Marnie," Hermione said before heading off back over to Ron. Before Pomfrey came over to yell at me, I heard distantly Hermione say to Ron, "your brothers are lucky to have a friend like her." Ron glanced back at me. I pulled my eyes away, quickly, looking down at the ground smiling.

"You are not supposed to be walking around without these, young lady!" Pomfrey exclaimed. I smiled up at her.

"Sorry. It won't happen again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i apologize this chapter was a bit of a mess also marnie gets intense. who know if that's realistic but its how i feel marnie would react. also!! i apologize for the sheer lack of Ella content! i have to admit i don't have a lot of inspiration for her story yet and honestly her story starts much later than marnie and pippa's but i promise there will be ella content coming before you know it!! if it wasn't overly obvious, marnie is kinda the main character and she gets the most attention as such but there will definitely be a balance coming! hope everyone has a lovely holiday season! update soon. word count: 2206


	23. Marnie and the New Hobby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (a/n: im adding this, i thought it would be fun and i know it doesn't match the timeline so let's just pretend it does hehehe)

"Are you sure you don't want any help?" I called, "I could ref or something!" My friends had already gone outside, leaving me stuck in the Weasley's family room. I laid my head back against the couch, grumbling.

My broken leg was propped up on the coffee table like Madam Pomfrey stressed I needed to do while I sat, bored out of my mind. The Weasleys, Pippa, and Oliver had gone outside to play a make-shift game of Quidditch and I watched through the window.

"Hello dear! Can I get you anything?" Mrs. Weasley popped in.

"Hi, Mrs. Weasley. No, I'm alright, thank you." I said, glumly watching my friends whiz around, laughing and smiling.

"Here, I've got just the thing." Mrs. Weasely said. I watched her hurry off into the other room and return with a basket of yarn and various knitting needles.

"You want me to knit?" I asked, trying hard to mask the disdain in my voice. She nodded, astutely, placing the basket in front of me.

"What's your favourite colour?" She asked. I shrugged, pointing to a pastel pink ball of yarn.

"Alrighty, let's learn how to knit!" She said with a big smile.

"Fine but no one is allowed to know."

~

"This isn't working, this is bloody impossible!" I said, huffing as Mrs. Weasley stirred soup in the kitchen.

"Would you like me to take a look dear?" She called. I struggled with the yarn and the needles a couple more times.

"I don't understand what's not working- oh wait." I cut myself off. I did another stitch, doing it differently than the last few and it began to work. A smile broke out on my face up until I held the needles too loosely and the yarn came falling off.

Frustrated, I threw the needles onto the carpet, groaning. Mrs. Weasley came into the room with a mug of tea and a warm smile.

"Drink this, take a couple of minutes. Regroup. It will come to you." She said, calmly. I was racing against the clock seeing as I only had so much time before my friends returned from their game and there was absolutely no way they would be knowing about this.

After a few minutes and some sips of cooling-down peppermint tea, I picked the needles back up and started again, slowly and carefully.

An hour later I had aired my grievances and frustrations on not being able to knit and had successfully started to actually do it.

"Look, look, look!" I exclaimed, waving the crooked and slightly holey trapezoidal-shaped... thing up for Mrs. Weasley to see.

"It looks great, Marnie! Soon enough you'll be making Weasley jumpers." She said with a smile. My fingers were aching and my head hurt but I couldn't help but smile at the rubbish little project I had started. I tucked it under a pillow as my tired and sweaty friends came back into the house.

Oliver came over and placed a kiss on my forehead.

"Sorry, you couldn't join us, Love. Did you die of boredom?" He asked, sitting down. I smiled, shaking my head.

"No," I laughed lightly, "Mrs. Weasley kept me company."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heh this is entirely based off of my own experience with knitting. i literally learned yesterday and my project looks like absolute shit but i love it and i highly recommend knitting to anyone who is stressed out. cherrio. don't forget to vote/comment/share! update soon. word count: 600


	24. Ella and the Parseltongue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (a/n: this is probably gonna be shitty idk anything about parseltongue. bear with me lol. this is modeled after the dueling club when harry spoke in parseltongue but like instead of harry I'm gonna make it ella or something like that.)

"Ugh, I hate this class." Marnie sighed as we walked to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Pippa hummed excitedly to herself as we walked. She very much enjoyed this class. Marnie hobbled along with her crutches, grumbling to herself. Pippa held her books for her.

"It can't be that bad," I replied, picking at my nails.

"It absolutely can be with Lockhart running around. He's a nightmare." Marnie droaned.

"It's a dueling club. Technically, you don't have to do anything unless you volunteer," Pippa said as we turned the corner, "really, you can't participate anywho, just lean in the back, Wood will be there." Pippa and I snickered at the blush that assaulted Marnie's cheeks.

"Maybe I will." She fired back. The room was crowded as we walked in, mostly Gryffindors and Slytherins on their respective sides of the room. I watched Marnie lean against the wall by the window chatting up Wood. Pippa and I stood by the Twins, towards the back of the crowd.

Second-hand embarrassment coursed through me as Lockhart spoke and I cringed any time he bolstered himself up.

"The nerve of this guy," Pippa muttered. Professor Snape, also present likely because Lockhart is a git, stepped up onto the long table set up for dueling. Lockhart took his position, seemingly ready to disarm Snape.

Though, none of us were overly surprised when Lockhart went flying back as Snape yelled Expelliarmus. Pippa bumped my arm, snickering to herself. I rolled my eyes, smiling. I felt a tug on one of my curls and whipped my head around to none other than George Weasley.

"What do you want, Weasel?" I asked. His face remained cool and collected.

"Just saying hello to my favourite person at Hogwarts." I snorted at his words.

"That can't possibly be me, Weasel." He stepped closer to me to better see the next pair of students up to duel.

"Whadda say, Quincy? Think you're gonna get up there?" George teased. I crossed my arms.

"Not a chance," I replied.

"Quincy! Weasley! Since you are so inclined to chit chat, why don't you demonstrate for us something." Snape sneered. I felt my stomach plummet out of my arse.

"I hate you so much," I grumbled to George while Lockhart pulled my hand, helping me into the table. I went to one end of the table while George sauntered over to the other.

"Right, let's see what fourth year is teaching you." Lockhart pressed. Fantastic. I swallowed my pride and cleared my anger, ready for the absolute worst.

"Right, ready," my nerves tingled uncontrollably, "set," I glanced over to Pippa who looked just as nervous, "go!"

"Expelliarmus!" George yelled.

"Protego!" I fired a shield in front of my spell, blocking Weasley's.

"Very good Ms. Quincy," Snape said. I smirked over at Weasley.

"That was a fluke." He grumbled. I titled my head.

"Yeah? Tough. Tarantallegra!" George's legs wobbled uncontrollably as students surrounding us laughed. I smiled at my victory.

"Nice one Quincy," George seethed, "Petrificus Totalus!" Unprepared, George was quick to disarm me with a blinding light. I stumbled backward a bit but caught myself in time.

"Incarcerous!" I pointed my wand a George, smirking as his legs were then bound with rope as he tripped onto the table. George hesitated for a moment and I was almost hoping I had won. He muttered out a spell I didn't hear and the ropes vanished into one long snake.

"Merlin, what are you doing?" I hissed as it came towards me.

"I'll handle it," Lockhart said, stepping forward. Before I could stop myself, I stepped forward, feeling majorly in control of the situation.

(a/n: i don't know anything about parseltongue so what I wrote in italics will equal what is being said in parseltongue)

"Wait. Don't strike." I said before I could stop myself. The dialect coming from my mouth was familiar yet I couldn't identify it and was unable to confirm where I had learned it.

"No harm will come to you so long as you don't harm anyone here," I said. "Understand?" I watched as the serpent backed away, almost cowering. Snape, with a disturbed look on his face, stepped in front of me and rid the room of the snake.

I shook my head, falling back into reality as the stares of everyone burned my skin. Before anyone could stop me, I ran off the table and out of the chamber, moving quickly.

~

"Would you mind explaining what in Merlin that was?" Marnie asked, sharply. I excused her terrible bedside manner as she stood over me.

"Explain what?" I asked. I had gone back to the common room, which I realized too late was a mistake.

"The Parseltongue thing!" Marnie exclaimed, leaning forward on her crutches.

"Parseltongue?" I asked, sitting up from the couch.

"Salazar," she muttered, "the ability to speak to serpents." I looked at her with wide eyes.

"I didn't know I could do that," I said, quietly. 

"Obviously. Though, it's a bit interesting seeing as you and Potter are both Gryffindors." Marnie said. Potter?

"What about Potter?" I asked.

"Turns out today was the day of snakes," Marnie explained, "another snake was accidentally conjured and Potter spoke to it but everyone thinks he was setting it on this other student." She finished.

"The ability to speak to serpents. Good thing that will never be useful." I muttered, laying back down.

"Your mum was a Slytherin right?" Marnie asked.

"Yeah, why do you asked?" Marnie carefully sat down on the couch.

"Perhaps you or Potter is the heir of Slytherin." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, as if."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a bit pointless but i kinda had fun writing it and its ella content yay!! I'm having more inspiration to write which is exciting! update soon. word count: 989


End file.
